1985 - ST and IT
by Strange4891
Summary: How thirteen children fight off against a shapeshifting clown in Derry, Maine.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 _October 27th, 1984_

The death of George Denbrough was a moment of darkness around Derry, Maine. A boy at the age of six, who was only playing in the rain with his waterproof boat in his hand after the week of flooding that happened only a few days before. His left arm ripped off to the bone with blood streaming down into the sewers as his screamed echoed around him. He fell on his back onto the road, his eyes staring at the sky before he died in his own blood with the rain hitting his lifeless face. A monster lurked in the drains of the sewers, its' chuckling laughs echoed through the hollow tunnels below town. It was a clown. A clown that wasn't human. It had golden, bright eyes and red lines that went down its' face. It's hands clutching the boy's arm as it's white clothes were stained in blood before disappearing into the darkness. This had only happened in such a short time but, it would spread out in a matter of days, maybe even hours.

Bill Denbrough was sitting on his bed, due to being sick after the boys had worked from the flood that had almost destroyed Derry. He had not known about his brother's death nor the fact that the thing that killed Georgie, It, would be the monster that he would face soon. He would find out in an hour that his brother was dead when his mother's scream echoed through the house at the sight of her dead son, held in a blanket that was covered in blood. Georgie's blood.

Beverly Marsh would be leaning outside of her window, smoking a cigarette as the rain poured down the sky. Her lips pressed thinly as the drug was in between her lips and her fingers gently held them like human scissors. Her beautiful hair and piercing eyes would make others believe that she would be a fine woman when she grew up but who knew? Only time would know.

Ben Hanscom was at the library, picking out books for his inspiration of the supernatural. He had thought about reading some books dealing with the supernatural because this was the eighties. After an hour of looking, he had chosen a classic by the works of Stephen King. He had chosen Firestarter, a book that would show the hidden truth to a dark past. He checked it out with his hand written in cursive on the first page before leaving the library in the pouring rain.

Richie Tozier was complaining with his mom about going over to his cousin's house, the Wheelers', for their upcoming get together that only the sisters' (that was Maggie Tozier and Karen Wheeler) would enjoy. Richie hated all of them, including Karen's two oldest children, Nancy and Mike Wheeler. "Mike is a geek who could never understand the true taste of music!" Richie exclaimed to his mother but, there would be no avail. He would have to go.

Mike Hanlon was doing his chores in his house, working as the sky was solemn. He knew something felt wrong. With the kids that had been disappearing, he had the curiosity of wondering what it was that was killing them. Who was it? He thought, thinking that someone that was human could kill these children. . . .Or was it a monster? He quickly ignored the thought from his head.

Stan Uris was sitting in his seat, staring at the photos of birds that he had taken. The photos spread across his desk, overlapping with each other with black and white contrast. He sighed, wondering if his photography skills could be handy when he got older.

Eddie Kaspbrack was with his mother at a another one of his appointments. He sat on the bed, his feet dangling on the edge while he was waiting. His mother was sitting on the chair, reading through a magazine while Eddie felt bored. He wished he could be with his friends in the Barrens where they could hang out.

Michael Wheeler was also complaining to his mother about the get-together with the Toziers'. He was going to have Dungeons and Dragons that night and he would ultimately disappoint his friends, including Will Byers. "Mom, Richie is a trashmouth! Everyone knows it!" Mike exclaimed as an excuse. "Mike Wheeler don't be so rude towards your cousin!" Mrs. Wheeler said in shock. "Now you will do this and you will be nice to your cousin and if you don't I will never let you play Dungeons and Dragons again." And that would shut Mike up.

El Hopper was unpacking boxes of her clothes as she felt something wrong. She didn't know what it was though, it felt like a gut feeling. She quickly shook off the feeling, trying to continue working on unpacking her clothes like her father had told her to. She rolled up her sleeves of her oversized sweater, showing the tattoo that laid on her left wrist. 011, it wrote in bold letters. It was a mark the defined her dark past.

Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson were sitting together playing the Atari, a present that Dustin had gotten for Christmas and never usually played because of the horrible controls. "This is fucking bullshit!" Dustin exclaimed in anger, almost chucking the controller across the room. Lucas laughed at Dustin's defeat. "Well it's a shitty game but give me the controller," Dustin rolled his eyes, his toothless front teeth showing as he gave the controller to Lucas and they did this cycle again and again.

Will Byers was sitting next to his brother, his head bobbing up and down with the loud music coming through the speakers. The song was "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" It was a song that would mark the forever known truth that he would be okay. That whatever would happen would be okay in the darkness of the unknown. He would never know that he would call the sewers the Upside Down and that the monster he would see would the monster that attacked him at Dungeons and Dragons. The Mind Flayer.


	2. The One

**The** **One**

 _September 6th, 1985_

 _One Year Later_

The Wheeler's basement was something that was immediately recognizable and intriguing. The basement was filled with boxes and boxes of things from Mike or Nancy's childhood. But this was the hangout place that the boys came here for. This was their own lair. They don't remember how they had decided to be there. Maybe it was from how loud they were and maybe Mrs. Wheeler couldn't take it? But whatever it was, they loved it. The basement for these four boys was simple; Dungeons and Dragons. This game had changed their lives when Mike Wheeler got it from Lucas Sinclair for Christmas. Now, almost every weekend, they played DD to fantasized about their lives as heroes. But tonight, that would change all of it. Mike began their last journey for the boys before their worlds would change.

"There is something lurking in the darkness. Something hungry for blood," Mike exclaimed in a serious voice, his eyes glaring at the three boys around him. On his right was Lucas Sinclair, a small but fierce friend who cares about his friends after the divorce of his parents. On his left was Dustin Henderson, his chubby appearance and his disappearing two front teeth,that were claimed to be from his disability, made people believe that he wasn't the smartest kid in his class, but he was. And lastly, in the middle was Will Byers, Mike's best friend. Will was small for his age with maple, brown hair that was dressed into a bowl cut. His beautiful, hazel eyes and expression made him look pure and innocent, which he was. Will never swore, did anything bad, or be mean towards others. He was the good kid in the group, the person that most people wanted to be.

"What is it?" Will asked in a curious voice, his eyes staring at Mike with the excitement of being the cleric of the group.

"We're so fucking screwed if it's the Mind Flayer," Dustin exclaimed in worry.

"It's not the Mind Flayer," Lucas exclaimed. "It's most likely going to be the Demogorgen or something,"

"Which is also shit for us, Lucas!"

"The monster comes out through the darkness, its' golden eyes staring at you as it is-" Mike exclaimed as he slammed a figure on the board, shaking the table dangerously. The figure was a tall figure with the head of a spider and somewhat of an octopus. "The Mind Flayer!"

The three boys erupt in a groan, knowing that this would be their end. Dustin yells to Lucas with his voice cracking. "I told you so!"

"Shut up!" Lucas snapped in annoyance.

"The Mind Flayer is getting impatient! Will what's your action?!" Mike exclaimed in a loud and sonuous voice, becoming impatient with his friends.

"I don't know!" Will said in a panic. He had never beaten the Mind Flayer before and by his panic he had forgotten what he could do to stop it.

"Use your protection spell, Will!" Dustin exclaimed to Will, his eyes showing safety and concern.

"No! You should fireball it!" Lucas yelled louder than Dustin as the two boys began to argue.

"Protection Spell!"

"Fireball!"

"The Mind Flayer rolls his hands towards Will the Wise readying his powers!" Mike yelled.

Will felt himself panic, holding the 20-sided die in his hand and yelled. "Protection spell!" He threw the die quickly, the boys all watched as the die went to the edge of the table, flying past them before falling onto the ground.

"Shit!" Mike exclaimed and stood up, making the other boys stand while they frequently tried to find the die. Their expressions were filled with worry, Will's especially because this was the life of Will the Wise could be killed from the number.

Then a yell called out from above the basement. It was Mike's mom, Mrs. Wheeler, looking at her son and his friends as she said. "Mike, it's nine at night!"

"Come on, Mom!" Mike exclaimed, looking up at his mom before running up the stairs. "Just a few minutes!"

Will was too busy to care about what was going on with Mike and found the 20-sided die, underneath his chair. What? He thought in his head. How could that be? He picked up the die, seeing the number shown plainly in his fingers. The number was written in a bold font which made Will sigh. It was a one.

Will knew his demise and told the others. "Guys I found it," He said in disappointment.

"What is it?" Lucas asked as he walked towards Will quickly. His eyes looking at the die before he sighed. "Fuck."

"Oh no. Please let it not be a one," Dustin whined, eyes showing panic.

"It's one," Will sighed, showing defeat. Will the Wise was most likely dead by the destruction of the powerful Mind Flayer.

"Well, we lost," Lucas sighed as he looked at his two friends.

Footsteps were heard down the stairs to reveal Mike with a sad expression. "Sorry guys," He said softly. "You have to leave," The three boys nodded and stayed quiet, not saying a word as thunder rumbled in the distance.

002

Rain poured down onto the ground in the dark night that echoed through the roof of the garage. Mike stood in the garage while the boys were getting on their bikes. Thunder growled in the distance, storming as the pouring rain as it ran towards the sewer drains.

Will Byers zipped his jacket and got on the bike as he said his goodbyes to his friends. He got on his old bike that was worn down after using it too many times to count. He looked at Mike, whose eyes looked off into the distance.

"Hey Mike?" Will asked softly. Mike's head quickly turned around, his mopey hair curling towards his face just like the freckles that danced them.

"Yeah?" Mike asked quietly.

"It was a one," Will said softly. "It got me,"

"The Mind Flayer?"

"Yes," Will said, his shoes getting on the peddals as he biked down to the road. "Bye Mike,"

Mike settled on a wave towards Will before going back into the house, not knowing that this would be the last time he would have a normal life.

But none of them would.

That night, Will quickly biked down the road as rain poured on his head but that did not stop his mood. He hummed the song that his brother had showed him the day Georgie died and heard the song inside his head.

"So you gotta let me know.." Will sang softly, biking through the rain. His eyes staring into the darkness above him. He stared off looking into the woods the calm woods that were laced with darkness of the unknown. He was going to sing more but someone stopped him before he could.

"Should I stay or Should I go?" A voice ripped through the silence. Will's eyes immediately widened he looked up to see a monster.

Will quickly tried to go for the breaks, his head spinning as he tried to stop himself. Out of fear, he sent his bike hitting curb before falling onto the ground. The storm above him thundered and knew that if he screamed, no one would know.

He could feel the monster coming closer. It's golden eyes glaring at him with a evil smile. The silohouette of a monster lurking towards him. His body was stuck, in between the bike while he panicked on what to do.

He quickly jolted out of the grip of his bike and ran into the forest. His heart pounding in fear as the storm thundered in response. Will's breathing irregular as he felt like he was in a horror film or even worse, what he saw was the man that was killing kids.

While he was running and thinking at the same time, he felt himself fall onto the ground by the next minute. He quickly tried to get up, his heart pounding in fear. He could see something in the distance while he ran, his heart racing and panting. It was a dark hole that was surrounded by cement with a sign that wrote that this was the Derry Sewers.

He ran towards the entrance, thinking that this could be a safe place to run towards and hide. Then, like every horror movie in existence, he tripped. He slammed into the ground, his head hitting the edge of the cement. He screamed in pain, trying to get up while blood ran down his head. He struggled to stand up, feeling something grab him. He could feel something wrapping his legs, digging himself into the ground.

"Hello, Will," A voice said from behind him. His head immediately turned around and saw the monster in disguise. He tried to get up and run towards home, but he knew this would be the end. A chuckle arose from its' red lips, leaning down towards the young boy.

Will immediately knew he need to run, he need to get out but the world seemed to fade into darkness as he stared into the monster's eyes. He tried to stop himself but he had already faded once he closed his eyes. "We all float down here." The voice whispered softly in his ear before he felt darkness overcome him. "And you'll float too. . . . ."


	3. The Call

**The Call**

As morning arose, no one knew where Will Byers had gone. The Byers family would never know until that morning. Joyce Byers, Will's mother, would find his bed neatly cleaned up just like the day before. "Jonathan, didn't Will come home last night?" She would ask her oldest son while he made breakfast for him and his younger brother.

Jonathan was sixteen and the loser at Derry High School. He was known for his passion for photography, bringing his camera everywhere just to find the best moments of life, but the students believed that was creepy that a teenager might take photos of them without their consent. He had not seen Will since that Sunday morning after he had made breakfast for the both of them before Will went to the Wheelers' to play Dungeons and Dragons. "Uh, I don't know," He replied, his eyes looking back at his mother who looked disappointed at her son.

"You don't know?" Joyce asked in a serious voice.

"Jake said if I could cover, and I said yeah. We need the extra cash," Jonathan said honestly, his eyes looking back at his mother who was very disappointed in him. "Will is most likely at the Wheeler's or something,"

"Johnathan, we talked about this. You need to be there for him when he gets home," Joyce said in a serious voice. "You know what happened the last time he came home alone,"

Jonathan sighed with a nod, his hair bobbing in the air while he nodded. Joyce went to her phone, dialing the numbers of the Wheelers' hoping that her son was okay. She hoped that he wouldn't be like the missing children that were reported dead with ripped limbs. "Come on," Joyce begged, her voice filled with worry as she waited for the Wheelers' to pick up and felt as worry grew. She waited for a few minutes before she heard someone pick up and call.

002

"Hello, this is the Toziers' residence," Maggie Tozier called out as she held the phone, twisting the cord in her fingers. Richie was sitting in his seat, eating breakfast while he heard his mother talk to someone. Richie Tozier was a rambunctious kid as most would say. He was a little shorter than most boys with dark, curly hair and large, red glasses that stayed on his face. Everyone knew Richie as Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier which made sense by his loud personality and that he could never shut up.

Richie's father, Wentworth Tozier, sat next to him on the morning table, his eyes staring at his newspaper. They were all in the kitchen, the smell of bacon and coffee still hung in the air like a diner.

"Oh, is that right?" Richie's mom asked in a surprised tone. Richie's eyes went back to her and he was immediately curious. He leaned over the table, his body looking at his mother, who stood in the hallway.

"Mom, who are you talking to?" Richie asked loudly, enough for her to hear him.

"Richie, let her talk," Mr. Tozier muttered as he continued staring at his newspaper. On the front of the newspaper was the picture of a kid that he had never seen with the bold letters "ANOTHER TRAGEDY IN DERRY." Richie rolled his eyes and continued annoying his mother.

"Honey, who is it?" Richie said in a low voice, trying to sound like his father.

"Yes, I will tell him," Mrs. Tozier continued speaking to the caller while Richie frowned. His mom was ignoring him. He saw his mom say goodbye to the caller before she ended the call. She let out a sigh, her brows knitted together before she went back into the kitchen.

"Who was it?" His father asked, looking up at his wife while Richie sighed. He was just asking that a few minutes ago but now that she finished the call, he can ask her?

"I just said that a few minutes ago," Richie grumbled, holding onto his cup before drinking his glass of orange juice.

"It was Sheriff Hopper," Richie's mom said softly, sitting in her seat as she looked at her husband and son. "There is a curfew now for the children,"

"Another one?" Richie exclaimed in a groan. This wasn't good.

"It's for this area. There's another kid that's missing," Mrs. Tozier explained to her son, stabbing her scrambled eggs. "Will Byers, I believe,"

Richie instantly knew who Will Byers was and his ears immediately perked up. "The Boy Who Came Back To Life?"

Will Byers was known for this name since a year ago. People thought that the boy did suicide after finding his body in the lake. The boy had never gotten an autopsy after his mother had told them not to, or something like that. Then, the day of his funeral, he's alive! He just got out of the coffin and scared the shit out of everyone in the funeral. Everybody was freaking out about it in Derry like it was a shitty miracle or something. Richie also knew that Will Byers was a friend to Richie's cousin, Mike Wheeler.

Ugh. Even the thought of him ruined Richie's morning. The Wheelers' were a nuclear family, he knew that from the beginnning. Richie's aunt married the man for the money and had two "wonderful" kids that he believed were annoying. The oldest was Nancy Wheeler. She was the perfect girl in high school with her perfect face, her perfect hair, her perfect grades. She even had a boyfriend named Steve! Richie hated her the most because he never got perfect grades and he always hated how she acted towards him. Then, there was Mike Wheeler.

Mike was the same age as Richie and looked almost exactly like the boy but, there were some major differences. First of all, Mike was a geek. He had toys in his bedroom, played Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, and lastly, he had never talked to girls. When he was told this, Richie literally almost puked. "You've never talked to any girls? I talk to them all the time!" Richie remembered saying to Mike last Christmas Eve. That immediately disgusted Richie and he never wanted to talk to Mike for centuries. Even though they both disliked eachother, the one thing that Mike and Richie actually agreed on was Nancy. They both tried to get her into trouble, especially with the truth that her parents didn't know she had a boyfriend.

While Richie was thinking about the Wheelers' for two seconds, Richie's father replied in a monotone voice while he stared at his newspaper. "Yes,"

"He hasn't been seen since last night. His family found out only this morning," Richie's mom replied while Richie ate his scrambled eggs. "He was at the Wheelers' for a few hours and then was gone,"

"Maybe he just wanted to get the shit out of Derry to get away from Mike," Richie replied sarcastically, eating with food in his mouth. "I could understand that,"

"Richard!" His mother yelled at him with shock, her expression showing disappointment and surprise over her son's statement.

"Language." Richie's father muttered.

"What? The Wheelers' are horrible," Richie admitted as he placed his hands up the air in defense.

"That's not true. They're just.. different," Mrs. Tozier said. "They care more about grades than you do,"

"That's because I-" Richie was going to make an excuse but sighed, slumping in his chair. "You got me,"

"Maybe because of Will's disappearance, you should go and stay over at the Wheelers' for a while. I bet Mike would need your company over the sadness of losing his friend again," Mr. Tozier muttered, looking at his paper.

"That is a great decision," Mrs. Tozier smiled.

"I'm not going over to their house. It'll be a nightmare," Richie begged to his parents. "I'll die there," He pleaded in a whiny, childish voice.

"No, this is a great oppurtunity to be friends with your cousins," Mrs. Tozier said as she stood up.

"I don't want to be!" Richie exclaimed. "Come on, dad, please don't make me go!"

"You need to be there for your cousins," Richie's father only replied.

"Yes, your aunt would love for you to be there for her son," Mrs. Tozier went to the phone.

"This is bullshit," Richie muttered as he stood up, hearing the yells of his father and mother but he didn't care. He went into the living room, seeing his worn backpack placed next to the door, and grabbed it. He put it on, feeling his glasses slip and quickly pushed them up. He then went to the door, opened it, and went out into the outside.


	4. The Grave

**The Grave**

"Guh-Good morning, Richie," Bill Denbrough said in a soft voice, sitting on his bike. Bill stood on the sidewalk next to his beloved friend, Eddie Kaspbrack, who some people called 'Asthma Eddie'. Eddie was a thirteen year old with short, brown hair. He was fairly small for his age, but his fierce personality reminded Bill of the girl from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Eddie stood next to Bill in his small bike as he stared at Richie while Richie walked down the steps in a sigh. The red house of the Tozier's behind him. Richie sighed with a smile on his face. " 'Morning Big Bill," He said imitating his Southern Farmer voice. He placed his hand on Eddie's head and ruffled his brown hair. "'Morning Eds," He chuckled.

"Richie, stop calling me Eds," Eddie muttered, swatting his hand away from his head and tried to get his hair straight. Richie chuckled as he went to his bike which laid on the ground of his front lawn.

"No can do," Richie said softly as he got on his bike, pulling up his glasses before he biked towards the boys. Richie seemed like he was hiding something.

The three boys began to bike and leave Richie's house, the air hitting their skin as the weather was slightly cloudy. The sun emerged from the east, warming Bill and the others to continue biking.

"Hey, did you guys hear that Will Byers is missing?" Eddie asked, his eyes looking at the others while his cheeks were pink by the cold wind hitting his face.

"Ye-Yeah," Bill stuttered. "Muh-My parents told m-me about it this mor-morning, saying the-they got a cuh-call from the She-Sheriff,"

"Me too," Richie replied. "Must've scared the shit out of his family to find him missing again. I bet I would leave Derry, if I could,"

"Beep beep, Richie," Eddie muttered with a sigh.

Bill began to think about the last time he had talked to Will, which was the first time. Bill remembered the memory so clearly that it felt like it was yesterday.

002

Bill had never seemed to be friends with Will Byers, but he remembered when Will went to Georgie's funeral, while the whole "George Denbrough is in heaven now" and all that shit that Bill ignored. He was the only one in his family who went to the funeral because his parents were grieving too much to even come. He remembered that his friends, Richie, Eddie, and Stan were there, all in their finest clothing and looking at Bill carefully. Stan Uris was about the same height as Bill with his curly hair and clothing that always made him look good. People called him Urine by his last name, and bullied him for being Jewish.

He saw Will Byers looking across from him along with the other three boys that Bill did not know much of except Mike Wheeler, of course. Mike was Richie's cousin and he knew that all too well. He could see one of the boys, the pudgy one, talking to Mike and Will. Mike's expression filled with disgust before saying something back to the boy. Will's face showed sadness as he looked back at Bill, seeing that Bill's eyes were straight at him. Will quickly looked down once they had made contact while his friends talked. Bill couldn't make it out the conversation because after a few seconds, Mike's mother told the boys to shut up.

Once the funeral was over, Bill remembered he sat down on the bench, staring at his brother's grave while people past him, ignoring him. His friends left him alone so he could have some alone time. He heard footsteps come over to him and sit down, next to him. Bill didn't bother looking at the person next to him.

"Um," The voice said quietly, struggling to find the right words to say. The voice was sweet, young, and pure. "I'm sorry that my friends were talking through the funeral. They're.. they're immature sometimes."

Bill stayed quiet as he looked back to see who it was. It was Will Byers. His eyes didn't look at Bill, staring at the new marked grave than the others. Georgie's grave looked like a pile of dirt, hiding something beneath. On the stone grave, it had the date and the name of George Denbrough with a paper boat beneath the engraving. Bill had told his parents to put the engraving there because that was the last object he had seen Georgie with.

Will's bowl-cut hair blew in the wind while his eyes stared at the grave. "I have never lost a sibling before," He admitted, his voice showing that sadness. "But if my older brother died, I don't know what I could have done without him,"

Will's eyes met with Bill's as they stared at each other. Bill could see the boy's face more clearly. Will was small with brown moles that touched his neck and above his lips. His chapped lips looked like someone had bit them, probably himself anxiously. His clothing was very simple. He wore a red and blue flannel under his puffy brown coat and blue jeans that almost hid his worn, brown shoes.

"I'm sorry," Will blurted out, his eyes looking at Bill's with sincerity.

Bill opened his mouth to say something and stuttered. "I- uh- It's al-al-alright," He felt embarrassed that his stutter always ruin his way with talking to people, but Will didn't seem to mind. A smile arose from his face; a genuine smile that showed happiness and care. A smile that reminded him of Georgie, in some way.

"Will!" A voice called out. The two boys turned around, seeing that it was Will's friends urging Will to come to them. Will let out a sigh. He looked back at Bill, his expression showing sadness.

"I should go," Will said softly and stood up. "Have a good day," He replied before running towards his friends. His small size towering over the three boys as the boys looking back at Bill before leaving. Bill let out a sigh, his eyes looking back at Will while he disappeared into the car. Will seemed almost different that what he had expected. Bill felt himself wanting to talk to Will again but, whenever he had the chance, he didn't.

Maybe it was chance that Bill had felt something with Will. A longing, a new friendship that he had wanted to have with the boy and yet he never did.

But, the sadness that formed when he found out that Will disappeared was large. He felt like he had lost his chance.

003

They stayed in silence, their minds focused on their own things. The memory that Bill experienced was only for a few seconds, coming back into reality while he looked back at Richie, seeing that he was quiet. It was almost disturbing that Richie was quiet.

"So, Richie, how are you?" Eddie asked, feeling like he had just read Bill's mind.

Richie sighed and let out the truth after he let out a deep breath. "I have to go and sleep with the Wheelers' for a while," His eyes seemed annoyed, irritated.

"Wh-Why?" Bill asked in a disgusted tone, his expression was showed confusion while Eddie's showed pure disgust as if the boy had just smelled or seen something that he had never known of.

"Because Zombie Boy had to go missing. My mom says it would be good to talk with Mike and Nancy because I talk shit about them all the time," Richie muttered.

"Why do you tell them that in front of them?" Eddie asked in a frustrated tone. Bill could see that Eddie was finished with Richie being an idiot.

"Because, they know how much I hate them," Richie said in a nonchalant tone.

"Ih-Is-Isn't that go-going to wh-want you to like the-them more?"

"Fuck!" Richie exclaimed in annoyance, seeing that Bill was right. Eddie slapped himself in the face lightly in frustration.

"You're an idiot, Richie," Eddie replied in annoyance.

"And you're cute, Eds," Richie replied with a smile while they biked to the entrance of Derry Middle School.

Derry Middle School was a fairly large building with tan, dull bricks and students with the looks of disappointment and worry on their faces. After the call from the Sheriff, everyone was in instant fear. Will Byers was missing and everyone knew that something was changing.

Bill biked with the others to the bike racks, seeing that there were others who had placed there's before them, but still placed their bikes in the slots.

"These must be from the geeks," Richie mumbled, pulling up his red glasses.

Eddie rolled his eyes and said. "You know, we're geeks too,"

"No we're not," Richie explained. "There is a line between who is a geek and who is a loser. We are from the Losers' Club and get bullied because we are different than everyone else. The Geeks are bullied because they are smarter than everyone else and they are immature."

"Be-Beep beep, R-Rich-Richie," Bill said in annoyance.

Eddie began to laugh at what Bill said and smiled at the two. This saying was something they had used for years to shut Richie up. It was a saying that was just like Richie's phrase, "The Losers' Club gets off a good one!"

Richie rolled his eyes, his curly, dark hair blowing in the wind as he pushed up his glasses to the bridge of his nose.

In the distance, they heard the school bell ring, announcing that there was only a few minutes before school started.

"Shi-Shit," Bill stuttered, remembering that he had a test in his first hour class. "I-I got-gotta g-g-go!"

"See ya Big Bill!" Richie yelled as Bill quickly rushed into school, the morning rising. Bill went into the school, walking into his class as he began his day.


	5. The Balloon

**The Balloon**

El Hopper stared at the window, watching the forest as the world was quiet. Morning was beginning its' day as it rose from the trees in the east. She sat on the windowsill, her curly, brown hair covering some of her face as she stared in the window. The sunlight lightly danced on her legs, warming her cold body. She sat in her father's cabin, her home ever since she had moved to Derry. She had lived in Indiana in a small, suburban town called Hawkins.

This was how her day began every morning, sitting on the windowsill as she stared into the forest, the TV playing in the distance with her breakfast sitting on the table. Eggo waffles laying on a blue plate along with a glass of water.

But today, she felt something wrong.

She did not know how, but she just did. She had a gut feeling that there was another kid gone. She had felt this many times in Derry. She knew that the monster was killing these children, whoever it was. The one thing she did know though was that it wasn't human.

El stood up and went to the TV, her eyes looking at the screen. It was show that she did not know of, but she did not really know that much about TV in general. She only used it when she needed to. She had been born without using electronics for most of her life and never used it until she was adopted by Sheriff Hopper.

She felt herself knowing that now she needed to find the child. Now would be a good time. Her father was off at work and he wouldn't see her doing what she did while he was gone.

She ran down the hall towards her room, bursting the door open in a loud bang. She ran towards her nightstand, opening the drawer to reveal her things. She had many things in the drawer; sleeping pills, cigarettes that she had stolen from her father, batteries, radios, a super-com, and lastly, a dark bandana. She grabbed the bandana, holding it tightly in her hand before leaving her empty, wooden room.

She went into the living room, seeing voices on the TV talk about friendship and love. It was a children's show, of course. Shows like this had helped her with english, math, and history. She had never gotten proper schooling before she was adopted.

She stared at it, confused on what was going on in the show as the kids were at a carnaval. She had never gone to one before but she didn't want to. It seemed creepy and childish to go there.

She changed the channel as she got bored, not noticing the red balloon that floated towards the viewer in the distance. After a few minutes of searching, she found a perfect spot that was filled with static.

El let out a deep breath, putting the bandana over her eyes and tying it into a tight knot. Darkness covered her entire vision, only hearing the static from the TV. Then she closed her eyes and letting out a deep breath, before she opened them again.

002

The shallow water touched her feet as she opened her eyes to find herself in a dark world. Darkness surrounded her as she began to walk, her curly hair bouncing as she needed to find someone, anyone. She tried to find who she was looking for, her mind searching through the entire town.

She knew she only had a limited time while she walked, her ears trying to find a sound, a voice, anything to find the missing child. Then she found him.

El heard footsteps running behind her through the shallow water. She turned her head around to see a boy, around the age of thirteen running through the darkness. Blood and muck were everywhere on him while he struggled to run through the place where he was. His breathing was shallow and fast, his bangs were covered in dried blood.

He looked small for his age, smaller than herself with a flannel, jeans, and a vest. His bowl-cut went along with his maple brown hair, making him almost young by his terrified expression. El knew what was going on.

"Well, hello there," A voice erupted in the distance. The boy stopped his eyes staring at something in the distance, something El couldn't see. His appearance became terrified, his hazel eyes widening at the voice. His actions quickly made him run in the opposite direction. She could see that he was struggling to stay calm while he ran in panic.

El tried to follow him, her curls bouncing while she ran. Seeing the boy for the last time before he disappeared like smoke. She could hear him running, his breathless whimpers echoing through the darkness.

She stopped in her tracks, feeling her heart race. She let out a deep breath, her eyes looking around before sighing. She should get out of here. She needed to tell her father where this boy was and find him before it was too late. As she was about to pull her bandana off her face, a voice called out, making her body shake.

"Would you like a balloon?" A red balloon began to float towards her. Her mind was curious, as any child would, but something stopped her from going towards it. The balloon seemed normal, why would it be bad? It's just a harmless balloon. Her gut feeling told her to leave but, it began to dissolve as the balloon got closer and closer to her.

The balloon stopped once it got in front of her, unraveling the words that were placed in front of her. She could feel her heart pound in her ears, waiting to find what it was.

Once she saw the words, she felt her entire body break down. On the red balloon, it wrote:

Good job, Eleven

That was the last thing she saw before taking the bandana off her head. El was panting, tears formed in her eyes as that name. . . that horrible name stuck in her head.

She hated that name. The name that marked her past. The name that her Papa had given her at a young age. "Eleven, you're beautiful," He would say to her when she would do a good job doing his experiments.

El let out a sob as she began to cry. Tears falling down her face just like the red liquid that ran down her nose. It stayed on the above her lips before she wiped it off with her sleeve, staining the fabric of her flannel.

She looked at the sleeve for a second, seeing the stain of blood that began to sink into the fabric while her tears welled up in her eyes. She ignored it and stood up, feeling weak as she headed towards the phone.

The phone was placed in between the hallway, living room, and kitchen. It hung on the wall, colored in a bright tan that wasn't pale like cream. She quickly went towards the phone, remembering her father's phone number and dialed the number with her shaky hand. She placed the phone on her ear, waiting for her father to pick up.

It took a few seconds, but eventually, someone answered the call. "Hello, this is secretary of Derry Police. Who am I speaking to?" El instantly knew that this was Flo as her father called her, who was the Sheriff's co-worker.

"Hello, this is the Sheriff's d-daughter," El replied in a shaky voice, playing with the cord with her fingers quickly. "May I talk to him?" She never really used the phone and talking to people was a struggle for her. It was a new world than what she lived in when she was younger.

"Yes, of course, El," Flo replied as the line was gone for a few minutes before the call came back. El could hear her father's breathing as he let out a sigh.

"El, why are you calling me? I already have Will Byers' mother on the other line and you know how she is," El's father, Sheriff Hopper, grumbled. She almost felt like she could smell the smoke as the man exhaled through the phone.

"I found him," El pleaded in a panicked voice. "You.. you need to get him out. He's hurt and-"

"I can't," Hopper interrupted her. "I'm too busy with the case about these dead kids that once I leave here, I'll be in big trouble,"

"Then maybe I can go," El said softly, her hands fidgeting with the cord. "I can find him-" She trying to say, but Hopper interrupted her.

"You are not going to find him. You know the rules,"

"But he's hurt!"

"And maybe just a dream!" Hopper replied in a calm, frustrated voice. El could hear the sigh coming from his mouth and she felt annoyed through her stubbornness.

"Let me just help," El pleaded. "He's out there alone with that thing and I need to help-"

"No!" Hopper yelled through the voice. El felt her inside shiver, feeling tears well up in her eyes before blinking them out of rage. "You are to stay in the house and not use your... your talents without my permission,"

"And if I don't?"

"Then you're grounded. No TV, radios, you'll just sit in your room and stay there until I come," Hopper replied with a sigh. El could feel himself become frustrated as she did not notice she was playing with the locks on the door. "I.. I'm only doing the best I can El for you. If they find you, I cannot do anything to stop them,"

El let out a deep breath, nodding while she said. "Okay. But, when are you going to find him?"

"Tonight, maybe around when we have dinner," El frowned as Hopper muttered those words. She would be starving by then.

"At eight-fifteen?" El said with a sad tone.

"I know, kiddo, but it's all I can really do," Hopper explained.

"Then why can't you let me find him?" El pleaded.

Hopper began to laugh through the phone. It was a chuckle that El always thought reminded Hopper of a bear. The man's laugh was short though as he sighed. El could almost feel like he was shaking his head while he spoke. "You're stubborn, El." Then a voice erupted through the distance from the other side. El couldn't hear the voice but she could hear Hopper saying that he would be there in a second. "Sorry, El. I have to go into a meeting. Don't go outside, don't open the curtains, don't open the door, and don't do anything stupid. Got it?" He explained to his girl.

El nodded as she held the phone. "Promise,"

"Good." Then the call ended. She placed the phone in it's place before staring at the door. Four locks put on the door for reasons. Three were unlocked, opening the door a little bit, entering the lukewarm air from outside. Oh, she would be in so much trouble for what she was going to do.


	6. The Theory

**_Warning: I am not a science teacher, I just needed something to continue the story._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

_

 **The Theory**

Mr. Clarke's Science classroom was a quiet classroom covered in science posters and necessities used for demonstrating the human body or just science in general. Students sat droning in the class, waiting for the day to start, but Mr. Clarke seemed excited while he fiddled with his projector that was placed in between the desks.

Mike Wheeler sighed as he sat in his seat, hearing the bickering of his two friends, Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair, about who they were going to be for Halloween. School was beginning to start and he already wanted the day to be over. All Mike thought about was Will... He had almost lost him once and never wanted to lose him again.

Their classroom was fairly small, there were only a few students in the class because some of these kids were smarter than their peers. The four boys had always worked together on these types of things. Each one of them was good at something. In this case, it would be Dustin because science was fairly easy for him. Mike had math, Lucas with history, and Will was always good with English.

But that day, Will had not came to school because he was missing. Mrs. Wheeler had told them over breakfast that morning, telling them also that his cousin, Richie Tozier, was staying over at the Wheelers' for a while. Richie was kind of annoying to Mike. He was a trash-mouth, just like his name depicted him. Richie was loud, obnoxious, and seemed to flirt with everyone which disgusted Mike, especially when it was to his own mother.

He quickly heard the sound of footsteps rushing into the room, making everyone's eyes stare at the person before the bell rang. Mike's eyes quickly adverted to the person making those footsteps to be Stuttering Bill. Mike knew of Bill since he was cousins with Richie, but also that he was the oldest brother to George. Their eyes quickly met before Bill went to his seat, his eyes looking down at the floor while his dark hair gleamed in the fall light. Mike looked down awkwardly, looking at his textbooks. The test began just as usual. The three boys finished quickly, but Mike could feel someone watching him.

After the short quiz, class began just like a regular day. Mr. Clarke stood up from his seat, a smile plastered on his face under his dark mustache. He pulled the blinds on the windows and turned off the lights, concealing the classroom in darkness. He went towards his projector, turning it on as a flash of light plastered on the white rolled up canvas. Mike winced at the light, thinking it was too bright after adjusting to the darkness.

The projector showed a drawing of the parts of the brain along with the names drawn on them. Mike could see Dustin's face instantly light up at the projector for his love of science while Lucas sighed, leaning back on his chair. Mike rolled his eyes and stared at the projector while Mr. Clarke began. "Because we just had a test, we're going to just start on something simple today. We are going to learn about the brain and a theory that was conducted sixty years ago,"

Then, the projector moved to another slide, showing a photo of an middle-aged man around his thirties with circle glasses while Mr. Clarke explained. "This is Walter Bradford Cannon. He was born in the nineteen hundreds as an American neurologist and physiologist," Mike listened carefully to what Mr. Clarke was saying while he felt a pair of eyes strike him. He could feel himself become uncomfortable as his muscles tensed up.

"In the 1920's, he created a theory after looking at the animals when they were frightened and soldiers after the war," Mr. Clarke explained, flipping to another slide that showed a dog. Mike squinted, trying to remember what kind of dog it was, but it wasn't any breed he had seen before. Mr. Clarke flipped to another slide before Mike could find out what it was. "The word of this term is something that most of you have heard of for years, it is called," Mr. Clarke flipped to a slide with bold letters that wrote:

The Fight or Flight Response

Mr. Clarke spoke, saying the exact words before explaining what it was through slides. "It's a response that deals with the stress of survival. Let's just say," He flipped through a slide of a carnival. "You're at a carnival and you have a fear of clowns."

Some people chuckled at this response because, who would be afraid of clowns in Derry? The fear of stupid things like that were childish and very stupid according to the students in the class. Mike rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, I know it's dumb but," Mr. Clarke chuckled as he flipped to another slide. It was another photo of a carnival in Derry with kids laughing near a clown while the clown gave the kids balloons in the distance."What if this clown came to you and attacked you? What would you do? Would you fight it? Or would you run?"

Mike stared at the screen, staring at the photo as his eyes were glued to the screen. He felt the clown and the picture were moving. He could see the clown moving as it gave balloons to children with happy faces. The sounds of music, screams, and laughter coming through the photo. He could hear merry-go-around music through the photo. He could smell cotton candy. He could smell the carnival.

Mike felt himself moved closer in his seat, almost like he was in a trace while the clown began to look in his direction. It's eyes immediately looked at Mike, the gold iris shimmering in the summer light. A smile formed in the clown's red lips, it's teeth showing that it was normal as he let out a chuckle. He moved a balloon towards the screen, towards Mike. It was a red balloon, a color that Mike had always hated since he was young. "Would you like a balloon, Mikey?" The clown asked, talking through the screen towards him. Mike felt like a little kid again. He felt his happiness fill him as he wanted to go into the photo and grab the balloon from the clown. He wanted to go to the carnival and go on rides with his best friends.

Suddenly, a young, small Will erupted through the photo. Will's eyes shining with happiness, holding a red balloon just like the one that was floating to him. He remembered Will being that small when he was in third grade when all of the boys had gone to the carnival without their parents permission, thinking that "It was just for fun!" But, later that day, Mike remembered, that a kid had been found dead by the Ferris wheel, right where the clown was.

Before he could do anything though, the bell rang loudly, erupting him from his thoughts. Students rushed out of class while he came to the realization of what had just happened.

He quickly grabbed his things, shaking his head at what he just saw before he put on his backpack. Mike could feel himself shake as he headed towards the door, not bothering to wait for his friends. He past by the light of the projector, smelling the carnival and feeling the clown's eyes watch him. "Wait up, Mike!" Dustin exclaimed, his voice disappearing into thin air as Mike ran into the crowd.

What did he see? Was that a hallucination? Thoughts ran through his head quickly. He felt like his was going crazy. His breathing was fast and he felt like he was going to faint. He could hear his heart pounding inside his head, making him panic. He felt like everyone was watching him, watching his every move while Will was gone.

Out of his panic, he quickly went to the closest bathroom. That was his goal. There he could wash his face, calm himself down, and then go to his next class before the bell rang. That seemed peaceful, serene. It was until he wasn't focusing on his surroundings that shit went downhill. He hit someone hard, making himself stumble to keep his balance.

Mike's eyes immediately went to the person he bumped into and felt his heart stop. He was staring at the dark irises of someone he knew.

"Woah! What the fuck happened to you?" Richie Tozier asked in surprise putting his large glasses back on his face. Richie was next to his three friends, Bill, Eddie, and Stan, with their expressions filled with worry especially Eddie, who looked like he had just seen what Mike had faced. Mike felt himself begin to panic, struggling on what to do. He tried to go past them but, his legs were ready to just fall to the ground from how much he was terrified. He could piss his pants if he let his bladder loose, but good thing he didn't.

"Wuh-We should g-go find this somewh-somewhere before th-the bell rings," Bill pleaded to Richie, his eyes showing sincerity while Richie ran his fingers through his hair.

"N-No," Mike stuttered, his voice cracking while he did. This was something that he never did unless something scared him. "I need to go,"

"Oh no you're not," Stan replied. "You're coming with us."

002

Mike could feel their eyes watching him as the five boys went into a large empty stall. The white tiles and worn down blue restroom, blocked by tan, metal wall that blocked the urinals and the toilets. They stayed quiet, watching each other to find out who was going to speak first. It was like a staring contest but, much more anxious and intimidating. Richie pulled up his glasses, his eyes looking at Mike as he let out a shy smile.

"Are you that worried about Will?" Richie joked with a chuckled.

"Cut the crap, Richie," Eddie hissed in annoyance, his eyes squinting with fury. "This is your cousin for Pete's sake," Eddie pulled out his inhaler, putting it on his lips before pressing the trigger. He let out a sigh as he put it back in his pocket.

"Yeah and I don't think it's about Will's disappearance," Stan mumbled as he crossed his arms, his curly hair falling near his forehead.

"Di-did you se-see something?" Bill asked, walking towards Mike. He seemed sincere, trustworthy even, but Mike knew better. Mike knew if he told these people about what he saw. He would be laughed at and would be teased for the rest of his life by his annoying cousin and friends.

"I.. I don't want to talk about it," Mike said quietly, his eyes looking down at the tile floor. What would he even say if they believed him? They didn't know what happened and neither did he. Trust was needed to in order. "How can I even trust you?"

"You can trust us because I'm your cousin," Richie replied quickly with a smile that showed his teeth that he used to talk so much. Mike didn't trust him at all. "I mean, we're blood related,"

"Beep beep, Richie," Stan groaned.

"Yo-You can trus-trust us because... we're th-the Losers' Clu-Club," Bill managed to say. "If you tell us what happened, w-we promise no-not to tell any-anyone,"

"Are you fucking serious Bill?" Richie asked in annoyance. "We're promising? We're not four year olds,"

"Well it's a better solution than 'You can trust us because we're related.' " Stan sighed as he rolled his eyes at Richie's reasoning.

"So, I-is that okay?" Bill asked to Mike, his beautiful eyes staring at Mike. Mike sighed and nodded.

"Sure, but please don't tell anyone including my friends. They would think I'm crazy," Mike pleaded to the four boys. Would they understand what Mike just saw? They would have to. He thought.

Three of the boys nodded and Richie said yes before Mike told his story, the story of what he had seen in Mr. Clarke's science class.


	7. The Fourteen Hours

**The Fourteen Hours**

It had been fourteen hours since Will's normal life had been turned upside down. The quiet sounds of the sewers and the feeling of that thing hurting Will had been stuck inside Will's head since it had been two hours since he had actually seen the Mind Flayer. Cuts surrounded his body and ripped his clothes that was probably infected by the greywater that he had been swimming around to hide his scent, but also to hide from the monster. Now he sat in a corner somewhere in the sewers, he couldn't really know because darkness was the only thing he could see.

Will shivered, his damp clothes making him more cold in the cool sewers. His eyes looking around, hoping that there was someone, anyone that could save him. In the pit of his mind though, he knew no one would come.

He looked around the dark area he was in and heard something in the distance. It was footsteps that seemed unfamiliar to a human's. Chuckles echoed from behind him along with grumbles filled with anger. It was the monster. "Where are you, Zombie Boy?" The creature called out in a soft, loving tone. His voice began to chuckle, letting out a laugh.

He struggled to get up, fear strickening him to stay in his spot. His eyes looking through the darkness as a voice inside of him said quietly to get out of there. It seemed familiar to him and it wouldn't be until years later that Will would find out that it was his own voice, telling him to leave the sewers.

Will slowly stood up, placing his hand on the cool wall before walking through the darkness as he used his one sense to get him through the sewers: his touch. He quickly walked through the sewers, hearing the Mind Flayer's chuckles and voices in the sewers. "Come on, Cleric," He heard the monster chuckle. "Let's see if you can survive this world,"

002

Richie leaned against the metal wall of the bathroom stall as he rubbed his frames on his soft shirt. The five boys had been quiet since Mike had told all of them what had happened to him and holy shit was it crazy. A clown moving inside of a projector? That seemed like magic or even something that would happen when you're on drugs.

Richie put his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, his eyes staring at Mike. Mike's eyes just stared at the floor as his dark hair helped cover his face. Eddie had to use his inhaler multiple times while Mike was explaining and he looked pale as a ghost. Bill seemed calm in all this which confused Richie for some reason. Why would he be calm after Mike explained to us that a clown wanted him to go inside a projector screen? Stan just looked calm, like nothing had happened.

"So, are we not going to talk about what he just told us or what?" Richie said quietly, almost in worry as he crossed his arms, staring at his friends and Mike.

"Y-Yes," Bill said quietly, looking as though he was thinking about something.

"I should be getting to class anyway," Mike replied, putting his backpack on his shoulders. "My friends might be freaking out,"

"Wait don't go." Eddie said softly, his voice showing fear. "What if you're right? What if this isn't some hallucination?"

"This isn't some supernatural thriller show, Eddie," Richie replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "This is Derry we're talking about here and Derry is just a boring old town,"

"W-We don't kn-know th-that," Bill's eyes showed worry, but also a look that a leader would have. His face showed determination and hope.

"We should just keep it as it is for now.." Stan replied in a serious voice. "This could be just nothing,"

"Yeah," Mike replied quietly, going towards the door and opening it. "Goodbye for now," He replied, leaving the four boys in the stall.

"Wa-Wait!" Bill yelled, popping his head out of the stall like a jack in the box. Mike turned around, letting out a sigh as he looked at Bill with worry. "Me-Meet us by the bik-bike ra-racks, aft-after-"

"Afterschool?" Mike interrupted Bill as his stuttering was starting to get bad.

Bill nodded in response as he sighed. Richie sighed and looked at Bill as if he was crazy.

"Sure." Mike said quietly, his eyes looking at the boys. "See you," Mike then walked out of the bathroom, his footsteps echoing through the halls. Richie could feel something bad coming. He didn't know what it was, but he just did. It felt like this would be the end of his normal life. That he and the others would be changed by the one action. Whatever it was, he was going to find out.

003

El felt the breeze run through her face as sunlight escaped into the living room, showing a cream glow lighting the wooden, creaked floor. She let out a deep breath, grabbing her orange bag filled with everything in her nightstand including a lighter, a flashlight with new batteries, and lastly, some tissues for the journey. She wrapped it around her shoulder, laying right against her hip as it laid on top of her large coat.

Today, she was going to rebel against the rules of her father to save Will. She knew she was going to be in trouble, but it was worth it saving someone in danger.

She had never gotten to do that when she was younger after her Papa had forced her to work on horrible experiments. He made her do things that gave her nightmares. She had met her father two years ago after she had escaped, killing about fifteen people in two seconds by using her talents. She had killed them to escape, to be free from the torture. Together, they stayed in Hawkins, Indiana for a year before Hopper was suspected to be hiding a "Russian" girl, leading to the conclusion that they needed to leave.

Derry, Maine was a town that Hopper had known of for years since the earthquake that had shocked the world. The earthquake had killed about sixty-four people and injured about a hundred sixty-seven.

Also, Hopper had always been suspicious over the disappearance of missing and dead kids that was increasing almost every year. El had been told this when they were driving to the town, the cool air inside the car blocking the hot summer heat that made everyone hate going outside except when you were swimming. Her father was smoking a cigarette while driving, his window was open, letting in the hot air into the car. "Jane, this town is different than Hawkins. It's strange and mysterious, so you have to be careful around here," He replied while exhaling the smoke into the car. El swatted the smoke away from her face, the stench of smoke made her cough. She understood why Hopper tell her these things. Hawkins Lab could take her back into that horrible place once they find out her identity.

El went to the door lock and unlocked it, letting the door instantly open by the wind. She had never gone outside since a year ago, but now it would be years before she would be able to go outside after this. She felt the air run through her hair as she went outside into the lukewarm September air, staring out into the forest that was ahead of her. Then she went down the steps, walking onto the ground before her mind closed the door, locking the doors, and turning onto the TV. Blood ran down her nose as she quickly wiped it away with a swipe. The TV blared with the children's show about the same kids at a carnival getting balloons from a clown.


	8. The Lost Children

**The Lost Children**

After sixteen hours of being awake, Will began to feel tired. He lazily touched the wall, his eyes drooping in the darkness while his limbs treaded forward. He struggled to keep himself from falling into a deep sleep because he feared if he did, he would be dead.

He let out a deep breath, stopping in his tracks as he heard something in the distance. He turned his head around, his eyes squinting to find any light source that could help him know where he was.

These sewers were like a labyrinth, he couldn't see a damn thing from having so many tunnels and it was pitch dark. He was pretty much dead either way, but he still kept going. His determination filled inside of him as he wanted to get out of here. He just had to.

He couldn't hear the sounds of It anymore. The monster had somehow turned the other way, not hearing the boy's footsteps. The voices that It made had merely disappeared into whispering echoes that gently danced in his ears to alert him of danger.

He continued walking through the darkness until he saw something flash. His eyes winced and closed them tightly. Was it what he thought it was? He thought, knowing exactly what it was as he began walking towards it. His brain immediately woke up as he ran towards it. It was light.

He struggled to keep his eyes open from the light, but kept running towards the light in relief. "H-Hello?" He called out, his voice raw from not speaking for hours. "Is someone there?" His voice cracked in fear as there was no sound, only the sound of water dripping onto the ground. An orange light flickered on the side of a wall as he ran towards it, his heart pounding as he hoped for the best. He turned to the left, feeling the warmth and light envelope him to see something that he could never forget.

He saw a lighter, laying on the floor, its' flame flickering as it was ready to go out. Will ran towards it, quickly grabbing the lighter. He flinched at how hot the metal was, but still held the flame out in his hand. He shivered at the warmth of the flame, his body had adapted to the cold that he didn't notice he was shivering.

Will kept the lighter held in his hand, his hand quivering through the darkness as he lit his way through the sewers. His hope to getting out was stronger now as he went through the tunnels, but that would soon end in a matter of seconds.

"Will?" A voice cried out from behind, a voice that Will recognized. He turned around, his heart pounding as the flame lit the area in front of him.

In front of him were dozens of children, some who Will recognized in school, but others seeming to be from decades before he was born. The one who spoke was Jennifer Hayes, a girl who had gone missing a few months before Will had stumbled here. He had known her for being so sweet to him, also that she had gone to his funeral (and cried as his friends told him).

Since he had last seen her looked nothing to what she looked now. Her long, blonde hair was dirty, filled with guck from the sewers and dangled beneath her breasts. Her face was covered in grime and dirt, something that most girls would detest. Her long dress was ripped and torn almost every spot near her limbs. Her eyes were what terrified him. Her left eye was entirely gone, surrounded by dried blood that went up to her eyeyebrow. Her right eye was only white as it was drawn with dark red lines. She looked like a _human_ doll, disposed and destroyed by abandonment.

Will now noticed that the other children looked just like Jennifer, looking lifeless, dead. Some of them had their limbs torn off and others had no heads. He saw James, Troy's best friend who came out to bully with him for so many years, stood across from Jennifer. He had disappeared around a few months after the death of George Denbrough. His neck had been bitten with almost razors, letting Will see his esophagus.

Will opened his mouth to scream, but no words came out. He took a step back, his heart pounding in fear. Was this real or was he hallucinating. "Will Byers," James spoke, not having trouble at all with his bitten throat. He took a step closer, making Will waver the lighter like a sword. His eyes showed fear and almost worry.

"Get- Get away." Will spoke out in a weak, quivering voice as he tried to sound strong, but it failed as he spoke. His body shook in fear and pure terror. His throat felt like it was closing, choking air away from him. He felt like he couldn't breathe through the closed space of the tunnels.

His lighter began to flicker as his thumb began to swell in hot pain from the flame, but he felt numb to the pain. His eyes continued staring at the children that stood before him. Will's eyes immediately went to a boy, younger than the rest who wore a yellow rain-slick coat and red rubber boots. His eyes filled with dried tears that stained his cheeks. He stumbled towards Will, walking to the flame as his appearance began to show through the light. Will whimpered, his heart pounding at the sight of a young boy with his left arm ripped off, showing the bone and dried blood that covered him arm and his yellow sleeve that looked like a pale orange. The boy's eyes were full, the hazel irises watching Will as he choked out a cry.

The boy that stood in front of him was George Denbrough.

"No," Will called out in a whisper, disbelieving what he was seeing as he took a step back. He felt the flame begin to die, beginning to conceal him in the darkness, but he could see the young boy's face as clear as day.

"Will," George said in a soft voice, his eyes staring at Will. "Tell my brother that it was his fault," His expression became frustrated and angry. "Tell my brother that he killed me,"

"Will tell him," Jennifer said in a quiet voice, blinking as she pretended to be normal. "Bill would be pleased to find this,"

Will didn't know what to say. His brain was struggling to find the right words as his mouth was ajar. A small flame trickled above the light and before he knew what would happen, he was filled in the darkness. His fingers shook as he was yelling at himself to run! To get the flame lit again! Whatever he did though, he couldn't find himself to.

Fingers began to crawl around him, touching his limbs and neck, dragging him into the darkness. Will let out a cry, sturggling to flame the lighter again. Panic was sinking in quickly. He didn't want to die here!

"LIGHT!" He screamed out loud, using his thumb to quickly light the flame. He needed to survive, he needed to get out of here for everyone. His friends, family, even the bullies who picked on him because of his clothes or from his father's emotional abuse. He needed to get out for his mom who couldn't live without her two sons alive and his brother, who's only best friend was Will. He needed to be there for Mike, who struggled with his English and didn't know how to do use his commas. "LIGHT PLEASE!" He screamed as tears began to spill down his cheeks.

Then just like a miracle, the flame lit back to life, burning his thumb as the fire erupted, reminding him gasoline touches fire. He cried out in pain, his grabbing his hand as the lighter fell down onto the floor. The metal clanged in the darkness, hitting the floor with a muffled sound of defeat. It sounded like the flame hit something, but Will couldn't see as he stumbled to stand.

A sheer cry came out, something that only a monster would make as the hands slipped from Will's view and the Lost Children that had disappeared out of thin air.

He felt down onto his knees, his body feeling almost as if he had run a marathon. He let out a deep breath, watching as the flame in the metal lighter began to deteriorate.

"I guess I beat the Mind Flayer." He muttered before letting out a dry laugh. His laugh ended though with a pitiful sob. He cried of hopelessness, knowing the truth of his problem. He knew he was going to die here. He decided that he could not run from death because no one would save him.

He laid down on the cement floor, curling into a tight ball, crying as tears fell down his cheeks. _Here is the end._ He thought.

Will laid his head on the floor, facing towards the lighter as the flame slowly faded. He closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath as he waited to die. The flame slowly disappeared in the darkness of the sewers, hiding the body of Will Byers, the boy who would finally die for the final time in his life.


	9. The Entrance

**The Entrance**

 **Bill Denbrough could** feel himself begin to worry as the four boys stood there, waiting for Mike Wheeler to come out of school. Bill's eyes following each student the came out while the warm September air blew past him. He let out a deep breath, hoping that Mike would come soon. Richie, Stan, and Eddie stood next to him, their eyes watching for the dark, curly haired boy to soon appear from the school doors.

"Come on, Mike," Richie said in an annoyed tone, letting a groan escape his lips. Bill could see that Richie was getting impatient because he wanted to smoke at the Barrens, which sometimes Bill would share with him, especially when he felt sad. Smoking was something that Richie always longed for when something is going or he's stressed, which happened once a week.

Eddie fidgeted with his backpack straps as his hands grabbed them tightly. His freckles that danced his face showed the tense expression that stayed on his face while Stan just stood there in silence. He looked like he was in deep thought, stands of his hair blowing through the air.

"There he is!" Richie exclaimed, pointing near the fence as he jumped. Bill's eyes met where Richie's rough finger pointed at to find Mike talking to his friends in the distance. There seemed to be an argument as Mike's expression was angry with his two friends. One of them seemed worried while the other seemed in fury.

"Looks like Mike's pissed," Stan replied with a serious tone.

"They must be his AV Club friends," Eddie explained to the three, his hand gently grazing the pocket of his pants, showing the lining where his inhaler was placed. "I've seen them come into my English class when we have to watch a movie,"

"Oh yeah!" Richie said with a smile, his eyes beaming with his teeth. "I think one of them is named Dustin? He's the one with no teeth though. Bowers calls him Toothless because he has two missing teeth. I think someone told me he has a condition that makes him have no collar bones or-"

"Be-Beep beep, R-Richie," Bill stuttered quietly to shut Richie up. Richie closed his mouth with a sigh as he stared off into the distance.

Bill watched as Mike's expression changed, his eyes looking back at the losers while "Dustin" was going with his other friend into the school with disappointment. Mike seemed worried, something that surprised Bill. Just like Mike, Bill was the leader of their posse. He knew that if he wanted to do something, everyone else was going to do it.

Mike grabbed the straps of his backpack as he walked to the bike racks, his eyes looking at the others with an exhausted sigh. "Sorry that took so long. My friends wouldn't let me go because of some important business," He replied quietly.

"F-For what?" Bill asked.

"Just AV Club stuff," Mike replied with a shrug, grabbing his bike as he pulled it out of the slot. Mike's bike was different than his friends, just like Silver which was Bill's trusty bike, was different than his friends. It was silver with a green seat. The wide handle bars made the bike look like it was supposed to be for someone older than an eighth grader.

"Then, let's go right?" Richie asked Bill and Mike, the three were watching the two leaders get on their bikes.

"L-Let's g-go," Bill stuttered, sitting on Silver as the others got on their bikes. They were only into the forest for fun, believing that they wouldn't see anything different. The five left school, biking through the streets as the sunlight hit their skin, heading towards the forest where the entrance of the sewers was.

They biked through the streets, staying quiet as they walked down Mirkwood, the nickname that Mike and his friends had called it since they had read The Hobbit in sixth grade. Will had decided on the idea, thinking that it would be a great name for an area where all of them would form together. This also was the place where Will had met the monster, but Bill and Mike did not know this.

Mike let out a sigh, his eyes looking as the boys as they biked up the curb and into the forest. The four boys ahead of him biked through the trees with ease while Mike looked at their surroundings. He had never really gone into the forest because his mother always believed he would get lost.

"Hey Bill! Where are we going?" Mike asked as he biked through the trees and heard the sound of birds singing.

"Ju-Just dow-down towards th-the Derry sewers," Bill replied, not bothering to look at Mike as he stared off in the distance.

"Alright," Mike replied quietly. He had never gone to sewers in his entire life, so this would be something different than what he expected. The day seemed to be peaceful, even though the traumatic experience Mike had, his cousin was staying at his house, and that his best friend was missing, this was an okay day for a Monday.

002

 **The afternoon sun** was beginning to set as the entrance to Derry Sewers stood in front of El Hopper. Her gentle hands grazing over her orange bag as she rummaged for her flashlight. The heaviness of her bag from bringing too many things made her shoulder ache, but she wouldn't do anything about it.

She pulled out her black, long flashlight that was once her father's until she had told him she was scared of the dark and gave it to her. She had always been scared of the dark and being alone since that was her punishment back at Hawkins by Papa. If she did not do what she was told, she would be locked in a room in the dark for a day without no food or water. She would scream and cry when this happened because she hated using her powers for bad. She always had. She pressed the button very hard with her thumb, letting the light escape onto the darkness of the sewers.

She let out a deep breath, her eyes staring off at the darkness of the sewers. El would need to be brave through this darkness. She knew that she needed to forget her fears, forget the fear of being alone in the dark to save him before she disappeared into the dark.

Her worn shoes quietly went into the sewers, feeling the disgusting shallow water touch the bottom of her shoes. The slushy sound of her feet as she began moving sounded like a gurgle, like if someone had gagged. She took a few steps into the sewers as her light shown through the walls of the sewers.

"What the fuck are you doing?" A voice called out, making her eyes immediately turn around, her flashlight hitting all of their faces like a deer in the headlights.

El could see what they all looked like through her trusty flashlight. They were five boys, all who looked around her age with entirely different sizes and styles that she had never seen before. She had never met boys, nor seen any girls in her town and the only ones she had seen were on TV, who didn't look at all what these boys looked.

Each one had a different appearance than the other. Two were short, especially the one wearing a fanny pack. All of them had wavy or straight hair except for one of them who had curly hair. They all wore different pieces of clothing that El could instantly describe who they were. The one that interested her was the one in the middle. He had dark brown hair that covered his face and his ears. He seemed awkward and quiet.

"Holy shit," The one with glasses muttered blocking the light that reflected through the glass. "Can you please get that out of my face please?"

"Richie shut up," The middle one replied in annoyance. His eyes looking back at the boy who was Richie.

"Yeah, Richie," The small one replied, his wide eyes staring at Richie with pure disgust.

El moved the flashlight away from the boys as she stared at the others, her expression filled with worry. One of the boys, who's looked normal than the others, spoke with a stutter which surprised her. "So, wh-where were yo-you goi-going?" The boy asked, his eyes showing curiosity. "Th-The sewers a-are dang-dangerous,"

"Yeah, especially alone," The curly-haired boy asked quietly, looking at the girl. All of the boys seemed to be staring at her. She could feel fear rising up in her as she opened her mouth, but couldn't speak.

"Cat got your tongue?" Richie asked with smirk, his glasses showing his large eyes that showed mischief.

She shook her head, looking back at the darkness of the sewers. She knew that Will was on his last moments of his life. "No," She replied with a serious tone. "I gotta go,"

"Why?" The dark haired boy asked, his eyes looking at El with almost the look of fear. She had seen that look before. It was the look Will had when he was running from the monster.

El let out a deep breath, her eyes staring at the boys before she spoke. "Will," She could see the boy's eyes widened, letting her see his brown irises. Silence came out before them. Their eyes filled with surprise and fear.

"Will Byers?" The small boy asked in a worried tone.

El nodded in response. She could feel the tense air as the boys began to look at eachother with disbelief except for the one in the middle.

"Is he in the sewers?" The middle boy asked, his eyes staring at her with a desire. Will must be important to the boy, she thought in her head.

El let out a deep breath and said. "Yes,"

"Is he alive?" The middle one asked.

El nodded again at the question.

The middle boy's eyes widened and he replied. "I'm going with you,"

"What? You can't," Eddie said in a serious voice, his expression showing disgust. "How do we know she is saying the truth? This could be a trap!"

"This is Will we're talking about here!" The middle boy exclaimed. "He's my best friend,"

"Then Ed-Eddie let's d-do th-this," The stuttering boy said. "Ei-Either none of us goes with her to find Wi-Will or we d-do,"

"Let's do a vote," The curly haired boy said softly, his eyes staring at his friends. "Who wants to go with her?"

Richie, the middle, and stuttering kid rose their hands. Stan showed worry before he let out a deep breath, raising his hand. Eddie shook his head in annoyance.

"Eddie, if you don't want to do this then stay here," The middle boy replied as the four boys looked at eachother before entering the disgusting sewers. El could see the boy contemplate for a few seconds, his eyes showing complete dread and misery before he said these words.

"Fuck it." He went into the sewers with them, as the five boys were going to follow her to find Will. They would find him in ten minutes, so close to the entrance, but never knowing that he was there.


	10. The Body of Will Byers

**The Body of Will Byers**

 **Mike let out a deep breath,** his eyes watching the girl as the two stared at eachother. She was pretty to Mike. She had a round, pinkish face, showing her round, innocent eyes and stubby nose. Her curly, brown hair looked messy with her large clothes, but it seemed to work well with her appearance. She looked strong, but also in fear from her brown eyes staring at him like she knew something. He could smell the dank smell of the sewers from just through the entrance, the smell was dank and musty, as if they were at those weird bathrooms that were used for camping.

All six of them stood near the entrance of the sewers. They all seemed to be tense, almost in worry about what they were going to see. The girl turned her body around, her flashlight lighting the way as the boys stayed silent. Richie pulled out a lighter, helping to light the darkness of the sewers as all of them entered inside. Mike went right behind her, then Bill, Stan, Eddie, and Richie, who had pulled out his lighter to help with the light.

At first, Mike couldn't see much, the darkness made his pupils struggle to get use to the darkness, but after a few seconds, he could see more clearly. "Ev-Everybody grab on-onto eachother," Bill said, his voice quiet and calm as they were surrounded by the darkness of the sewers. Mike could feel Bill's gentle hand on his shoulder, making Mike flinch at the impact. "S-Sorry," Bill replied quietly to Mike.

"It's fine," Mike replied, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder slowly. The girl winced at the touch, almost going to turn her body around, but she just moved her head, staring into his dark eyes.

"Sorry," He whispered to the girl, feeling his cheeks heat up from embarrassment. The girl just looked at him before turning her head around and continuing to walk in the lead. All of them stayed quiet for a few minutes, walking with their hands on someone's shoulder except for Richie, who was in the back.

"I hope that we don't need to go into grey water," Eddie mumbled, his voice echoing through the sewers.

"What the hell is grey water?" Richie asked in pure confusion. Mike could almost see Richie's eyebrows furrowed just like his aunt would do.

"Grey water is all the disgusting excess from the toilet," Stan replied in a tone that said "Are you stupid?"

"Well, it doesn't smell like it at all, Eds,"

"Don't call me that!" Eddie hissed in annoyance, making Mike almost feel like the boy was going to slap Richie in the face.

"But seriously though," Richie said in a serious voice, silencing their discussion. "It doesn't smell like that at all."

"May-Maybe because we-we're close to the en-entrance that we can-can't smell that much," Bill implied.

"No." The girl said, making the boys shocked by her voice. She hadn't spoken at all through the entire discussion and yet it felt like she had from her quiet voice. "If we go deeper it will be bad,"

"How do you know that?" Mike asked in confusion, letting the curiosity of all the boys talk through him.

"I.. I just know," The girl said softly as she shined her flashlight through the tunnels.

The six of them stayed quiet, only hearing the sounds of their shoes walking through the damp ground and water that dripped down into the grey water that sometimes landed on their head. Mike could feel some drops go on his head, making the water shiver down to his neck as it was cold.

"We're almost there," The girl said to the others, making Mike's heart pound. He needed to see Will, deep down knowing that Will could be dead. Bill could feel that Mike was tense and squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, it will be okay," He replied quietly, whispering in his ear.

The girl turned right and the boys followed her, staying quiet as they waited for the truth. Mike wanted Will to be alive, hoping that his best friend was okay. He had been friends with Will since they were in kindergarten. He remembered the day as the best moment in his entire life. Mike had never gotten any friends when he was younger because he was shy, but when he met Will by the swings, they became instant best friends, never leaving eachother's side and becoming geeks together. Their friendship was eternal, a bond that was never going to break and he did not want to break it now.

It wasn't until the girl turned the corner that he knew that the bond had broken. The girl's flashlight lit the path, showing a slumped figure in the distance. It was small, wearing a red and orange vest with a red flannel with blue jeans. It's brown hair was dark and messy, covering in sludge that disgusted him. Cuts surrounded that figure on his arms and legs, ripping the clothing by the seams. Mike knew who this was, his heart pounding, tears beginning to flow down his cheeks.

This was Will Byers.

Mike ran towards the body, hearing Bill's cry to let him stop, but it did not help. He sat down next to his best friend, feeling his breathing rush as he laid the body on his back, seeing the truth of how his dead friend looked.

He let out a sob, a cry that echoed through the tunnels as he saw the cut on Will's head and how horrible he looked. Will's closed eyes were black and solemn, looking as though he had not slept. His body was pale and cold as stone as Mike held Will's hand.

Mike had never usually cried, but he found himself crying over his best friend. Tears fell down his cheeks and felt over onto his jeans that were soaked in the shallow water of the Derry sewers.

He heard the boys surround him while he cried, Bill and Richie hugged him, holding him close as he sobbed in sadness. Eddie and Stan sat across from Mike, their eyes showing concern while Mike sobbed and sobbed. His voice mumbling with nonsense that the boys' couldn't hear.

The girl just stood there, her flashlight staring at the body while tears filled her eyes. She could not believe that this was happening, she felt the entire world feel like they hated her.

Mike looked at El, his eyes filled with pure sadness and then fury. "You told us where he was!" He cried out before letting a sob. "You told us he was alive!"

"Mi-Mike, st-stop," Bill pleaded, his eyes filled with pure sadness. "This wo-won't he-help. He's.."

"Don't say that Bill!" Richie exclaimed quietly.

Mike sobbed as he was over his best friend's body, his heart pounding in sadness, holding onto his hand. He could feel Will's cold hand touch his warm one. Mike had never felt so sad in his entire life. He had lost someone dear to him. Will was the only thing that made him feel happy. He squeezed Will's hand, wishing Will could squeeze back and come back to life. He wished that all of this was a dream, but after this morning he knew it wasn't. Mike felt numb, like he was already dead.

Will's pale fingers gently moved, his hand touching the palm of Mike's palm as they grazed his palm. Mike could feel it and he let out a gasp, his breathing shaky in surprise. He dropped Will's hand, taking a step back as he tried to keep calm.

"What the?" Richie asked in confusion, seeing what Mike had just done. His eyes looked at Mike almost with annoyance.

"His fingers. They j-just moved," Mike stuttered in shock, his eyes looking at the boys who looked like they had just seen a ghost.

"Could be just the nerves of the body," Stan replied with a shrug.

Eddie looked terrified at Will, but moved closer to the dead body before laying his head on Will's chest, trying to hear his heartbeat.

"Eddie what are you doing?" Richie exclaimed with a smile. "I thought you hated being dirty,"

"Shut up," Eddie proclaimed as he just laid his head there, Mike felt his eyes widened. Eddie gasped and jumped up, his eyes looking at the boys with shock.

"Wh-What is I-it?" Bill asked out, his eyes showing curiosity.

"He's.. he's alive," Eddie said in a quiet voice.

Mike heart began to pound at the words and looked at Will as he felt relieved, but also worried about his friend.

"But he has a shallow heartbeat. We need to get him out of here and into a hospital,"

"Wait how the hell can we do that?" Richie exclaimed to Eddie, his eyes showing worry and also pure annoyance.

Bill looked at them and said. "I-I could ca-carry him,"

"Bill, this is insane!" Stan exclaimed, walking back and forth in a panicked state. "How is he alive?"

"He survived it," The girl said in a soft tone that silenced the boys. Mike felt like she knew something bad happened to Will, but he didn't know why.

Mike stood up, wiping his tears as he stood up. "We need to go," He replied.

Bill nodded and leaned down over Will's body and carried it like he was a groom and Will was a bride, which Richie would laugh at if he was in Mike's mind. Will's head gently leaned onto Bill's shoulder, his forehead touching Bill's neck. Bill looked as thought he didn't seem to care, his expression calm while holding the body.

Mike looked at the girl, his eyes filled with leadership which Bill also had and said. "We need to contact someone,"

"Could you contact any of your geeks friends?" Richie asked Mike which made Mike's eyes squint in annoyance.

"I don't have a super-com and if I could, they're at school without their super-coms and they would need to find it through their radio that I accidentally broke," Mike muttered.

"You broke the radio?" Stan asked in confusion and anger. "Why would you do that?"

"I just broke the antenna and it was by accident," Mike replied quickly.

The girl's mouth opened as she spoke in a quiet tone. "I.. I could help," She said. "I have a super-com," Mike could feel the honesty in her voice, showing that he could trust her.

"We'll have to do it when we get out," Eddie spoke in a whisper, his eyes wide with fear. "It won't be able to contact them through here until we go outside,"

"Then, le-let's g-go," Bill said in a serious voice, their eyes looking at the girl to lead the way. The girl turned around, the light of her flashlight going from behind as the boys followed her through the darkness of the sewers. The faint cries of a monster quietly called out through the distance.


	11. The Antenna

**The Antenna**

 **Dustin Henderson** let out a deep breath as he was in the AV Clubroom, eating a Twinkie while he sat on one of the comfiest chairs in his life. It was a purple chair that could make you spin around in circles, but it also was the comfiest chair in the entire room. Whenever they had AV Club, which was almost every other day, they would immediately race on who would get it. Usually it was Mike or Lucas who would take the chair by being the fastest ones out of all of them, but sometimes Dustin and Will would get their chance in getting the chair. Today though, Dustin got the chair because Lucas was furious.

Lucas was Dustin's most passionate and stubborn out of the four kids in the AV Club. He cared about his friends more than anyone after the divorce of his parents. He lives with his father while his mother and sister left Derry to live in Hawkins. His parents had divorce a year ago around the same time Georgie died because they had different ideas on how they should let their kids live.

"Why the hell would Mike even go for them?" Lucas replied in an annoyed tone, fidgeting with the radio to try and make it work after Mike had broken the antenna after their argument. Lucas' eyes were filled with irritation and impatience as his fingers gently touched the equipment. He wanted to help, but Dustin knew that if he helped Lucas, it would make him more pissed than he already was.

Dustin shrugged, almost like if Lucas could see his shoulders rise. "I'm not sure," He replied quietly, the Twinkie still in his mouth as he spoke.

Lucas looked up at Dustin with disgust as he spoke with food in his mouth. "You're disgusting,"

Dustin smiled, his toothless front teeth showing as the Twinkie was still in his mouth. "Thanks Lucas," He loved teasing Lucas because it was a thing the two did. They would always tease each-other for the stupidest things, like girls. The two had fought over the new girl named Max just a few weeks ago, racing to see who would get her, but both of them were rejected.

Lucas rolled his eyes and continued to work on the radio, hurting himself as he exclaimed. "You fucking piece of shit!" He shook his hands as Dustin swallowed the rest of his food, standing up from his comfy chair.

"Are you okay?" Dustin asked, his eyes shown in worry.

"Yes, yes I'm okay," Lucas muttered in annoyance. "This antenna is just being annoying," He rubbed his hands together in a repetitive motion.

"Did you finish it?"

"Does it look like I did?" He snapped, his eyes glaring at Dustin until he began doing the antenna until he got to the right sequence. Dustin could see that Lucas was mad, but he could see the sadness in his actions. Today was one of the worst days in their lives.

Will was missing again, after what happened last year when Will disappeared, they never wanted that to happen again.

"Yes," Dustin said, standing next to Lucas as he turned the dial, knowing that this was the channel where their super-coms were. "Should we contact Mike and see how things are going?"

"Fuck no," Lucas replied in annoyance. "He.. He broke the promise that we all made to eachother if Will disappeared again,"

"Lucas, he's just hanging out with his cousin and friends. That isn't bad," Dustin began to go through the channels, hoping that someone would contact them, but sadly none came. "Richie and Mike aren't on good terms anyway because they look alike without the glasses,"

"For the entire day!" Lucas exclaimed, his hands flailing in the air as he was furious. "Ever since science he's been ignoring us and hasn't told us anything! Then he just leaves us for them," His brows furrowed with pure irritation and anger. "We promised we would stay together,"

"And we are," Dustin replied, his eyes showing honesty. "He just needs some time alone, just like you needed time when your parents divorced,"

Lucas looked down as Dustin spoke about his divorced parents, his dark eyes staring at the tiled floor that surrounded the entire school. "Fine," He muttered, looking at Dustin. "I'll try and talk to him tomorrow,"

"Cool," Dustin said with a soft smile, his eyes beaming with joy as he looked at Lucas. Lucas rolled his eyes at Dustin with a smile, Dustin could see that Lucas was feeling better and he was happy that he was getting all of his emotions out.

"D-" A call came in through the radio, the strong static making the boys come into their senses. Dustin went through the channels as he searched for it. "Who was that?" Lucas asked in confusion, his eyes looking at Dustin for an answer.

"I don't know," Dustin replied, his eyes not bothering to look at Dustin as he struggled to find the right channel. "Call them,"

Lucas nodded, grabbing the microphone as he pressed the button before speaking very close to it. "Hello? Who is this?" He called out, pulling his finger away as they both waited for a response.

"Lu-" The caller spoke before going straight into static. Dustin eyes lit up in joy as he knew where this was. He turned the knob to channel eleven, a channel that they never used because their super-coms couldn't hit the right channel. "Is that you?" The caller came out to be their friend Mike. His voice seemed impatient and in danger.

Lucas pressed the button on the microphone and spoke again. "Mike?" The two boys were both confused on how Mike could even get to their connection by super-com, if he was using a super-com.

"What? No!" The caller replied in an annoyed voice. "This is Richie,"

"I knew it!" Lucas exclaimed to Dustin.

Dustin rolled his eyes and said. "Not the time, Lucas,"

Lucas pressed the button again and said. "Hello Richie, what brings you to calling us right now?"

"I need you to call an ambulance right now." Richie exclaimed through the radio, his voice almost sounding like he was right there with them.

"What? Why?" Lucas responded as the two boys were both confused on how Mike would be speaking to them in such a dire manner.

"We found Will in the sewers," Richie said through the radio. "He must have been there for hours,"

"Why were you in the sewers?"

"There was this girl who was going in after Will and- Ow!" Richie exclaimed as someone hit him, not knowing who.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine, but Will isn't. He's hurt badly and he needs medical attention," Richie explained to the boys. "We thought he was dead when we found him, but he might be dying,"

"Shit," Dustin muttered and stood up, looking at Lucas with a nod. "I'll go. You continue talking to Richie. I'll go and call the police," He ran out the door with a bang, slamming the door on the white, brick walls that echoed through the hallways. He heard Lucas explain to Mike about Dustin as the pudgy boy ran through the hallways, his legs beginning to cramp because he had never ran that much in his entire life, but ignored it. Will's life was in his hands.

"Move out of the way!" Dustin yelled as he saw Middle schooler's talking, one of them would be Beverly Marsh, who was proclaimed to be the school's slut just by her beautiful looks and poor family. Dustin ran past them, his eyes looking at the glass doors as he opened them, feeling the cold, lukewarm air hit his skin.

He went outside, his cap almost falling off while he ran to the outdoor phone that stood near the Middle and High Schools of Derry, Maine. No one was there thankfully because if someone was, he would literally panic.

Once he got to the phone, he stumbled through his pockets for a cent, quickly finding it in his jacket pocket before putting it in the slot. The coin went inside, making a chime sound as he grabbed the phone, dialing the number that they were told a million times to use: 911.

He put the phone on his ear, wiping his sweaty hand on his pants as he waited. He heard the ringing sound of the dial, his heart pounding as he waited for the sound of something, anything. Then he heard someone pick up the phone, the voice let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Hello, this is Florence, the secretary of Derry Police, who am I speaking to?" She asked softly in a tone of annoyance. Dustin could hear through her voice that she wanted to leave.

"Hello, there is an emergency!" Dustin exclaimed in a worried voice, his voice cracking from puberty. "Will Byers is dying at the entrance of the Derry Sewers by Cornwallis and Kerley meet!"

"He's dying?" Flo asked.

"Yes!" Dustin almost yelled through the phone. "He needs medical attention right away or else he's die!"

"Oh my gosh. Thank you for telling me this. I will call the Sheriff right away," Florence spoke before ending the call, letting Dustin hear only the ringing sound that the call had ended. He placed the phone in its' place before running back into the school.

Lucas was sitting on the comfy chair when Dustin came in, his head in his hands as he was in deep thought. Dustin frowned, seeing that Lucas was sitting in the chair he clearly was supposed to be sitting in. He closed the door, making Lucas jump up at the sound and look up at Dustin.

"What happened while I was gone?" Dustin asked, his feet shuffling towards Lucas. Lucas sighed, his eyes looking down the floor before looking up at Dustin.

"Well, nothing really. I left because Richie was beginning to talk about geeks," Lucas replied, his dark skin glowing in the light. "Did you call the police?"

"Yeah, I told them that Will was dying," Dustin said with a soft smile, his disappeared front teeth showing. "It's the easiest way to persuade adults in this town,"

Lucas rolled his eyes, standing up as he went towards Dustin. He punched Dustin's arm with a smile and said. "You're an idiot,"

002

 **"Come on,"** Richie proclaimed as he nervously tapped his foot while they waited for something to come. The five boys stood outside of the entrance to the sewers without the girl who had disappeared by the time Richie had stopped talking to Mike's friends.

Will was weakly breathing in Mike's lap as Mike sat next to their bikes while the other boys tried to find the police or whoever was coming for them. His urge to smoke was strong, almost like when a child needs to pee really bad. He wished he could smoke right now, much sadly that would make him getting caught by the police which he did not want to do even wit his urge.

He could hear the soothing voice of his cousin as he was speaking to Will. His soft voice talking about their memories and past. It was kind of Mike to do that. He thought, which shocked him. Was he actually liking his cousin for the first time? I guess he was.

Things were changing in front of him and he didn't know how to accept them. They were weird, strange even. First, he was becoming friends with Mike, then he might actually accept the geeks for once in his entire life.

He let out a deep breath, shaking his head thinking that he could never do that. He could never accept the geeks. The losers could never be friends with the geeks.

He pulled up his glasses to let his eyes focus on the distance. His dark irises watching until he saw something in the distance. It was a silhouette of a man before many silohuettes began to form through the trees. "Guys, I found them!" He yelled with happiness.

Their gazes all looked towards Richie as they gathered towards him except for Mike, who still sat on the ground. Richie had a wide smile on his face as he was so happy and relieved. Richie couldn't see the expressions of his friends, but he knew that their expressions would be happy.

The silohuette of a man began to become closer them as their happiness grew. "Hello there!" A young voice called out, making the boys smile.

"Hello!" Richie yelled out with glee as the silohuettes began to become visible. They were officers and a few doctors, holding a makeshift bed for Will to lay on. They came! He thought with a smile. "Hello,"

The people came down to them, their eyes set on the young body of Will Byers, laying unconscious on Mike's lap. Mike was told to go with the other boys, which he did in the end, even if he wanted to only be with Will. The doctors placed him on the bed while Mike urged that he would go with him, but he couldn't for inspection.

Everything would seem to go into seconds for the boys. The man who they had met first, had a notepad in front of him and asked the boys if he give them some questions. "So, how did you find him?"

"It was a girl, she helped us save him," Eddie replied with a soft smile.

"Yeah!" Richie exclaimed, pushing up his glasses. "And she knew where he was!"

The officer began jotting down these notes, the boys excited and solemn voices lurking through the forest. The officer stared at his notepad before looking up at the boys, his eyes showing compassion before he said. "You can go,"

"Th-Thank you," Bill quickly as his eyes going to the others.

Mike looked at Bill, asking quietly. "Can we go to the hospital?" His dark hair surrounding and covering his cheeks.

Bill softly smiled, a smile that Richie had never seen from Bill since before his brother died. "Yeah, le-let's go,"

Richie walked to his bike just like the others, laying on the ground with abandonment. He put his hands on the handles as he pulled the bike up before getting on it. He didn't know how, but his eyes met back at the sewers. The dark abyss of the unknown covering the entrance just like most things did underground. He could feel like someone was watching them through the darkness, but wasn't showing them that they were there.

"Richie come on!" Eddie exclaimed to him as the boys were already leaving up the hill. They all had smiles on their face except for Mike, who was worried about Will.

"I'm coming Eds!" Richie laughed, peddling his bike as he went up the forest with the boys, thinking that this was one of the craziest days of his entire life, but this would be the first of a long line of crazy days in the weeks to come. This was only the beginning.


	12. The Sighting of the Lost Brother

**The Sighting of the Lost Brother**

 **Mike let out a deep breath,** fidgeting with his hands and shaking his leg up and down nervously while he sat. His eyes staring off into space as his pupils stared at the floor. His mind was clouded with the questions and thoughts of his best friend who was the only thing that he cared about at this moment. The guck and dirt from the sewers was still stuck onto his clothes, staining his hair and hands. His eyes and cheeks were red from the tears that he had shed for believing that Will had died. He wished he see Will laying on his hospital bed and hug him, telling him how much he thought that he had died.

The waiting room was the last place Mike would want to be, chairs surrounding the walls with coffee tables filled with magazines and lamps in the corners except for the door. The five boys sat in the waiting room, all with different expressions while Will was being treated. Everyone had something different than the other just by their actions and faces.

Bill sat next to Mike, his eyes looking off in the distance. Dried blood and the grime of the sewers stuck to his cheek, going down his neck and underneath his jaw. He looked zoned out, stuck in his own thoughts. Which was the same thing that Stan was doing. Stan sat next to Bill, not saying a word while the only thing that he had gotten dirty was his shoes, which might have been because he had not touched Will at all, nor the sewers.

Richie was sitting next to Mike with a relaxed expression. Even with what had happened, he had a smile on his face while his arm leaning on Eddie's chair. His eyes looking at Eddie to cheer him up, which wasn't working that much because Eddie looked concerned, whining about that his mother would kill him if she had known he was in the sewers with Will Byers. She believed that he was cursed because Will's own father had called him a horrible word that represented boys who liked boys.

"Mike!" A voice erupted him from his thoughts, his head moving up to be enveloped in a hug by his two best friends, Lucas and Dustin. Mike felt happy that his friends came when they could, or else they would deal with an angry Mike Wheeler.

"Holy shit Mike!" Dustin exclaimed, his voice cracking from puberty. "You look like you just got out of another dimension,"

Mike chuckled, smiling at the two as he rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Dustin," He replied.

Lucas looked at the other boys, his eyes meeting Richie while Richie was watching their reunion. "You're Richie right? The one who contacted us?"

Richie smiled and nodded. "Yup. That's me, sweetie," He replied while pushing up his glasses. "You're Lucas right? The one who talked to me?"

"Yeah," Lucas said softly with a smile as he nodded. "This is Dustin. He's the one who called the police,"

"It wasn't that big of a deal, Lucas," Dustin replied with a sigh, adjusting his cap while he spoke.

"Tha-thank yo-you for he-helping u-us," Bill said softly with a smile, his stuttering had become worse since they had left the sewers and Mike had been in shock since then.

"No problem," Dustin smiled, his teeth showing with happiness.

Mike felt like he was forgetting someone. There was another person who helped them in the sewers right? Then he remembered. The girl.

Where had the girl gone? She just disappeared, gone from existence when they had given her back the super-com. He might have just not known or see her leave because he was worried about Will, but still. Why didn't she tell them? . . . And did they even get her name? He did tell her his, but did she give him her name? He had never seen her in his life, nor in his school. Was she homeschooled? Maybe a new girl in Derry? But then he would have seen her by now if she was.

Why did she brought so much stuff for trying to save Will? Was it supplies for Will? No, that couldn't be. She had a super-com in her bag which is one of the heaviest things to carry and some other things that Mike couldn't see. What if we hadn't been there? He thought. Would the girl have thought the same things he did? His mind was overflowing with the questions of the girl that he had not noticed that the boys had sat down next to Bill and Stan before the boys would be covered in silence.

002

It wouldn't be until five at night that Mike and the boys would see Will Byers. Mrs. Byers and Jonathan would come into the waiting room, their eyes showing happiness through their red, tear-stained cheeks while they smiled at the boys. The seven boys waited for a response from the two.

"You can go in. He's tired so don't hurt him," Joyce said, looking at Jonathan while he gave her a nod.

Mike smiled and ran out of the room to Will's room, the boys following him as they entered room 353, which was across the hall. He could hear the yells of nurses and doctors to slow down, but he couldn't. He needed to see him, just like everyone else did.

Mike burst the door open, revealing a small room painted in white. The windows stood beside the hospital bed, letting the light of the sunset begin to go down as fall was coming. The bed was simple with white sheets and a white blanket, but a boy was covered in them. The boy's hair was maple brown, dressed in a bowl-cut as the bangs covered the cut that had caked his hair in a dark red. His arms were covered in bandages, along with a needle stuck in his right arm that gave Will blood from a red, plastic bag. Will's eyes looked at Mike, the light brown irises letting him identify who Mike was.

"Will!" Mike yelled in glee, running over to the boy, wrapping the boy in a hug. Will giggled, his arms gently wrapping around Mike's back.

"Hey," Will said softly, his voice sounded ragged and dry. Their eyes looking at each other while they smiled. They were true best friends. "I guess I beat the Mind Flayer huh?"

Mike weakly laughed, feeling tears fill his eyes while he nodded in agreement. "Yeah you did, Will the Wise," He said softly.

Footsteps entered the room, standing at the door while Mike and Will had their moment. Mike broke from the hug, his eyes only looking at Will while he looked back at Mike and then the boys.

"Wow, you guys look cute," Richie replied, making Mike turn around and glare at him.

"Beep beep, Richie," Mike replied in annoyance.

"Hey guys," Will said softly, looking at Lucas and Dustin.

"Byers!" Lucas yelled before hugging Will just like Mike did, but it only lasted in a few seconds because Dustin pushed him away.

"Oh my gosh Will we missed you so much!" Dustin exclaimed as he hugged Will tightly, making Will laugh.

"Dustin, you're choking me," Will replied with happiness, his giggle making the boy sound like he was very young, almost a child.

Dustin broke from the hug and smiled at him. "Sorry," The three boys went towards the window, letting the others go towards Will.

Bill quietly walked towards Will as he looked nervous. Mike could see that Bill was playing with his hands and knew that Bill would stutter really badly. "Um, i-is it ok-okay i-if you guy-guys le-leave?" He asked quietly, his eyes looking at the others, then Will.

"Uh sure," Richie replied, giving Bill a wink before leaving the room. Mike looked at Will, who gave Mike a sympathetic smile to tell him that he would be okay. Mike nodded, before leaving with the others and closing the door behind them.

003

Bill had never felt so nervous in his entire life, feeling like Will when he was talking to Bill at his brother's funeral. His heart was heard through is ears and his hands were sweating profusely. He wiped his hands onto his jeans, his eyes looking up at Will again before he spoke horribly. "Um, W-Will. I-Is i-it ok-okay if I-I si-sit-"

"If you can sit here?" Will asked quietly, his eyes showing compassion. "Yeah, of course," Bill awkwardly sat near Will's legs, his tall figure towering over Will's laid body. The sound of the beeping machines was the only thing that was heard in the hospital room.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Bill replied quietly, his eyes looking down at his hands. "I- I sho-should ha-have be-been a g-good fr-friend to you. I-I sh-should h-have t-talked to y-you ag-again."

"Bill," Will said softly, placing his hand on top of Bill's. Bill's eyes widened at the touch, looking back at Will while Will gave him a weak smile. "It's okay," His voice soothing Bill as he began to calm down, but their hands touching was the one thing that surprised him.

Will's fingers were cold, cuts covered with band-aids that hid the cuts completely. Under his nails were caked in dried blood and one of his pale pink nails was dark blue.

Bill began to hold Will's hand gently, his thumb touching the skin in between Will's thumb and pointer finger. "I-I st-still f-feel b-bad," Bill replied.

"Then, why don't you come here everyday," Will said softly.

"W-Wh-What?"

"Come to this room afterschool," Will squeezed Bill's hand gently, trying not to give himself pain. "I bet Mike and the others will do the same and I wouldn't mind it," He spoke.

"R-Re-Really? Ar-Are you s-s-sure?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure," Will said softly, his eyes staring at Bill as he needed to tell him something.

"Bill?" He asked quietly.

"Y-Yeah?" Bill said softly.

"I need to tell you something," Will said quickly, his breathing beginning to become quicker. His heart rate on the machine was beginning to race. His hands fiddling with his spotted hospital gown. "I don't know, what I saw, it might have been my imagination, but you cannot tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," He said softly.

Bill nodded, his mind concerned on why Will would trust him rather than his friends. What was he going to tell him that he did not want the others to hear.

"Before I fell asleep," Will began. "I.. I don't know how, but," Tears began to fill his eyes, covering his hazel eyes. "I.. I saw many children, some were people from school like Jennifer Hayes and James, but I.. I saw..."

"Wh-Who di-did y-you s-see?" Bill asked in a quiet voice, his heart pounding at what Will would say. Who was it?

"I saw your brother," Will cried out, his breathing becoming irregular while he cried. "I saw George with his arm ripped off and everything.." Tears spilled down his cheeks. "He told me he wanted to tell you something,"

Bill just looked at Will in shock as tears fell down his cheeks, staining them just like when Will had seen George and the Lost Children.

"He told me to tell you that it was your fault," Will choked out, his cries being heard from the room. His expression showed fear, terror from the horrible things Will had seen in the sewers. "He told me you killed him."

The machines began beeping faster and faster as Will cried out those words and Bill knew he needed to calm Will down, seeing that the boy was beginning to have a panic attack.

He quickly hugged Will, hearing Will's sobs with his hair brushing his left cheek. He closed his eyes, hearing the beeping become slower and slower while Will cried after a few minutes. He almost could feel the fear in Will's cries, whatever Will saw, he knew it wasn't Georgie.

"I'm sorry, Bill," Will whispered, his arms beginning to embrace the hug. His voice seemed worse than it was before, cracking at every sentence he made.

"It's f-fine," Bill said softly. "I-I'll.. I'll k-keep yo-your see-secret sa-safe,"

"Thank you," Will whispered, his voice so quiet that Bill almost didn't hear him.

They just stayed there, both hugging eachother while the rest of the boys sat in the waiting room. Bill's eyes looking at Will as the two began to begin their friendship after a year of waiting.


	13. The Boy Who Lived In The Sewers

**The Boy Who Lived In The Sewers**

 _September 15th_

 _One Week Later. . ._

Mike Hanlon wasn't someone who people liked. He was mostly ignored by everyone except for his family. . . And Henry Bowers. He lived in another school than most of the kids, believed in God, and believed that there was always good in the world, which most people would make him to be called Buzzkill. His skin was dark, unlike most kids in Derry who had came here from their ethnicities and ancestors in Europe. He also worked on a farm with his father and mother, where he would spend most of his time hearing his father talk about the bar that he had made with his friends in the war or how he had come back to Derry because he had liked it here when he was a military soldier there. To Mike, Derry was more than just that. It was his home, just like the other children. He had been born here and raised here, without no knowing of the horrors of Derry.

He could feel the cool air hit his face as he biked through the neighborhood of Derry, the season of Autumn beginning to come through the town. The leaves on trees were beginning to turn a gentle red and orange, gently swaying for dear life to stay on the trees that knew of the change in seasons. It was kind of pretty to Mike that Derry was so beautiful in the fall.

Mike continued biking through the streets, passing by the small shops and children who played together in groups by the sidewalk. Their happy cries showing their joy in their friendships. He smiled at their childhood that was set in front of them as he passed through the streets towards his destination.

He continued biking for a while, his hands becoming colder from the fall as he looking through the streets to find the house where he needed to go. He saw the small house that he needed to go to, gently pressing on his brakes as he stopped in front of a cream house. It was a two-story house with a garage in the back and had a white fence that covered the house.

Mike got off his bike, opening the gate door as he led both himself and the bike inside the area of the home. He got up to the end of the porch, placing his bike there before he went up the porch stairs. He heard a creak erupt whenever he walked up them, reminding him of his own home that creaked from being almost a hundred years old. He got to the door, letting out a deep breath before gently knocking on the door.

He waited for a few minutes, hearing the sounds of heavy footsteps run down the stairs quickly as they tumbled towards the door. He heard the sound of the door unlocking with a clink and swish. The door knob turned opened revealing Ben Hanscom from the doorway. Ben's eyes looked up at Mike before a smile came on his face.

Ben was short for their age with chubby cheeks and golden hair. He was very smart for his age, even with the constant bullying that he got for not being skinny. He was obese and wore sweatshirts sometimes to hide his fat after he had been called "Tits" for most of his life. He and Mike had met each other at the library when they were both searching the history of Derry and became friends after a few hours. They both were trying to find out the darkest secret Derry had.

"Hey Mike," Ben said softly, irises lighting up at the sight of Mike. He wore faithful smile with the ends of his mouth being covered by his cheeks.. "Come in," His small body moved over as he moved the door wider for the boy to come in.

"Thanks," Mike walked into the house, immediately smelling the cologne that Ben usually wore whenever someone was over. It wasn't strong, but it was too much for Mike's liking. Ben's house was fairly nice for a house. Photos of the small, chubby boy were everywhere on the dresser or on the walls of the house which most parents do to their loving children and also try to embarrass them about how cute they are in front of anyone. The walls were filled with an autumn orange, brown color with dark brown leaf patterns that almost reminded him of a Victorian old house. Other than Ben's cologne, the house smelled faintly of chocolate or cookies, almost like a bakery.

Mike turned around to look back at Ben, clutching onto the straps of his backpack with his hands that held a lot of things for their few minutes on conspiracy together. ."I brought some more photos about something I found that goes with the killer,"

"That's great," Ben smiled, closing the door and locking it. He went towards the stairs, moving much slower than Mike as the two walked up the stairs in silence while Mike held onto his backpack that was put on his shoulders.

Mike would always come over to Ben's house whenever his mother wasn't home and they could have some time to theorize to put the pieces together in a large, dark puzzle. They walked down the wooden hallway, their eyes going directly towards Ben's room as Mike clutched the strap of his backpack.

Ben opened the door, revealing the walls that were covered in missing posters, newspaper articles, and photos of the missing kids of Derry, Maine. The bedroom was very simple, but these findings made the room much more like a crime board than anything else. Ben's bed sat in the middle of the room across from the windows, with the walls at filled with missing children on one side and the other was the mysteries of Derry on the other. The two went inside, closing the door, and locking it for their search.

Mike placed his backpack on Ben's bed, the patterns of a quilt that covered the entire bed as the backpack bounced from the small bed. Ben watched Mike carefully, his eyes watching while Mike began to unzip his backpack. "What did you find?" Ben asked quietly, even though his mother wasn't home and they could be as loud as they want.

"I was looking a lot at the newspapers of these past two years," Mike explained, digging into his backpack until he pulled out a red folder. "And I think I found something," He gently placed it on the bed before opening it. It revealed photos and newspaper clippings of articles about three victims, George Denbrough, Jennifer Hayes, and Will Byers.

"So, I was reading about Will Byers," Mike explained, pulling out the newspaper clippings and the photos of Will Byers and five boys as he placed them onto the bed. "The day he disappeared, he was found by five boys and one girl. The five boys being Mike Wheeler, Bill Denbrough, Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Stan Uris and they had never gotten the girls name, but she knew that Will was in there and where he was, which is kind of weird,"

"It's strange alright," Ben muttered with a soft sigh. "Didn't they say they had never seen the girl in their entire lives living in Derry?"

"Yeah," Mike replied. "Which means a lot of things, even the most paranoid, which would be that she's a Russian spy or something,"

"They did say she didn't speak that much," Ben replied softly, his voice filled with almost annoyance about what he had already known.

"But, what intrigued me the most is Will," Mike explained. "Once he had woken up, he had told the police that he had met the man who had attacked the kids, but had not seen the man's face. He also told them that he had seen the lost children, the children who had disappeared in Derry, like Jennifer Hayes,"

"And she had been found about two hours later in the water of the quarry near the sewers," Ben explained, his eyes looking at Mike.

"Exactly, also, when he was talking to his friends that night, Bill and him wanted to be alone so most of their friends left. The thing was is that I talked to my father, who knew of the doctor at that time who took care of Will. I listened to the call to see if there was anything weird that Will had done, and what I found out was insane," Mike explained with a serious expression as he grabbed a tape recorder from his backpack and pulled it out.

He placed the recorder on his bed, which had the cassette tape in it to record it before he pressed play. There was some static first, until then there was a soft voice that began speaking.

"It was weird. This was Will's second time disappearing from Derry and coming back with some kind of trauma. A lot of people heard Will's screams when he was talking to one of Will's friends, I think it was the Denbrough kid," The.voice explained. "Even through the screaming only happened for a few seconds, I knew what Will said to the kid. He told him that he had seen George and that he told him that it was his fault. Will must had some kind of trauma after these horrific moments, he may have PTSD or something," Then the recording stopped.

"He saw George Denbrough?" Ben asked softly with wide eyes.

"Yeah, he saw George in the sewers," Mike replied, his dark eyes looking at Ben. "Even though he was dead almost a year ago,"

"That could mean that he had seen the other children," Ben replied, taking the newspaper clippings and photos towards George Denbrough's area in the wall, placing them above it as he pushed them with some pushpins.

"Yes," Mike agreed. "But that also means another thing," His voice becoming low with his serious tone while Ben grabbed some pink yarn and wrapped the two photos using the push pins on George and Will. Their happy faces made them feel innocent even through their dark lives.

"Does this mean that the man killed his children in the sewers?" Ben asked quietly, his eyes focusing on the photos before looking back at Mike that showed immense concern.

"I think so," Mike said softly with a small nod. "It makes so much sense, but we should try and find that out through Will,"

Ben nodded. "I guess so," He said softly. "But how would we even talk to him? He might not even want to go back to the horrors of what he saw,"

"I don't think so," Mike replied in optimism. "Some humans have the curiosity to want to find out a mystery,"

"But this is Will Byers we are talking about here," Ben replied in a concerned voice. "He's gone through the most trauma than any of the kids in Derry and almost was killed twice,"

"That doesn't mean that he would still want to find out who this person was," Mike replied softly.

Ben sighed, his eyes looking down at the ground before looking up at Mike. "Are you sure about this?" He asked softly.

"Yes," Mike replied. "Will could have almost died in the sewers if he didn't survive and if we're right, it means that the killer lives there to kill it's next victim,"

"If we're right, we could even find the man itself," Ben replied, his eyes glimmering with concern and determination, but the two did not know that this wasn't human, this was It.

"Yes," Mike agreed. "We should try and talk to all of them to find out what truly happened on the day of September 6th and 7th," Ben nodded in agreement, their minds going into the same idea as the two continued their ideas on finding out the truth on this monster who had killed these children. They would only find out that it was more than a person when the truth would be told when they would first see It.


	14. The Nightmare

**A/N:** Hello reader! I am terribly sorry for the people who had read the chapter before I changed the dates. I did not know this until now, but the last chapter was supposed to be September 15th, 1985 with one week later instead of one month in October. I apologize because it was honestly my fault for not noticing. I'm going to try and update it, so please enjoy this to forgive me. Enjoy.

 **The Nightmare**

Bill hadn't really changed that much since a few weeks ago. His hair still a reddish brown that was an angular cut. His worn, summer clothes still being used through the changing season that summer was coming to an end. His face looking almost as when he was younger whenever he slept, his red cheeks softly burning by the coldness of the room. He slept in his bed, cuddling to his only blanket as the cold air lurked in the room.

His mother always liked the cold than the house being hot, but he couldn't argue about it that much because he was never in the house usually. Whenever he could he tried to not be in the house at all since the death of his brother, his parents have been abandoning him, not literally of course. It had been eleven months since Georgie died.

The house had not been the same as it was with Georgie in it. His mother and father never wanted him in Georgie's room because he would mess the room up. There would only be silence in the dining room for dinner, hearing the sounds of the silverware and glass plates that Georgie would break on accident and no one would speak. He would always quickly eat his food before going upstairs into his room, wishing that he was back. There wasn't the liveliness of his house without Georgie.

While he slept, his phone on his nightstand began to ring, alerting him from his sleep. He whimpered, waking from his slumber as he used his hand to find the phone. His fingers gently grazing over the phone before he grabbed it. He put the phone in his ear, wanting to go back to sleep, but knew he wouldn't. "He-Hello, wh-who is th-this?" He muttered sleepily.

"Bill?" A small voice cried out, worry laced in their conversation as the voice spoke. Bill knew who this was. This was Will.

"Ye-Yeah i-it's m-me," Bill replied, sitting up on the bed as he lead on the board of his bed. "A-Are you ok-okay?"

"I need you to come here, please. I had another one," Will called out in a whisper, almost like he was going to cry, but Bill knew what to do.

"I'll b-be there i-in t-ten min-minutes," Bill replied quietly, quickly getting out of the bed while he held the pale blue phone. "Do n-not leave th-the house,"

"I know," Will whispered.

And then Bill heard the phone call end. The ringing low sound echoing in his ears as he quickly put the phone back in it's place and sighed. He got out of bed, feel the cold wooden floor touch his pale, naked feet. He shivered, quickly standing up as he went to his dresser.

He quickly changed into some clothes, just some pants and his long sleeved flannel that he didn't care to tuck in. He didn't really care about his appearance that much because he would most likely come back to his house at around six in the morning. He didn't really know what time it actually was, but it wasn't something he cared about right now. Will needed him right now and that was his goal.

Will had been getting a lot of nightmares since he had come back and whenever he did, Bill was the first one Will would call. Will had told Bill everything that happened in the sewers. How he had met the man and the monster that had touched him before he had dropped the lighter.

Bill quietly walked out of his room and downstairs, hoping that his parents wouldn't wake up by his sudden leave. The darkness was the only thing he saw in the living room as the moon glowed faint rays through the windows. The home almost seemed calm in the night, but it also disturbed Bill because the house was always silent, always calm with grief. He let out a deep breath before he grabbed his keys and left the house without looking back.

He opened the door, his eyes looking outside as he saw that clouds were rolling towards Derry. Was there going to be a storm soon? He thought inside his head, stepping outside in the warm air.

He closed the door, locking it with his silver, spare key before heading towards his bike that leaned on the garage door. His bike was something that he had bought by himself when he was eleven, which was too tall for him then, but he had no complaints.

This was Silver, his trusty bike that he would yell "Hi ho Silver away!" and always spoke it without a stutter whenever he went down a hill. He loved his bike, more than most of the boys in the Losers' Club. He grabbed his bike, quickly getting on it before he left his house that was once his home. He would never call his house his home, not unless his little brother was there with them.

002

Bill quickly biked towards Will's house as the moon was beginning to disappear in the west. He quickly saw the small house with no lights on, except for the light in the living room. He slowly got off his bike, laying his bike on the edge of the porch before he went up the went up the wooden stairs that entered to the home of the Byers.

The Byers home was a place that Bill did believe was becoming to be his home. Will's family was very kind to him, even with his stutter. Also, his mother, Ms. Byers, believed that being Will's friend was the best thing for Will, believing that he could trust someone that wasn't his childhood friends was a good thing. Bill never saw Jonathan that much because he was either in his room or working and whenever Bill saw him, Jonathan tried to be out of the picture maybe to not bring any attention towards them.

He gently knocked the door, trying not to wake the others as he let out a deep breath. He heard footsteps come to the door and someone fiddling with the lock before the door swung open to reveal Will Byers.

Every time Bill had looked at how horrible Will was whenever he had seen him. Will's hair was messy through sleeping in bed, nothing like the straight bowl-cut he usually saw while his bangs covered the scar the Will always tried to hide. His eyes were red and puffy, filled with the tears that spilled his face and down his cheeks. He wore his pajamas, just a gray sweatshirt and striped blue pants covering his white socks. Bill felt bad for Will with these nightmares, every time he saw Will this bad, he wished he could try and make it better.

Will moved shyly away as he opened the door more so Bill could come in. Bill quietly walked in and instantly smelled the smell that he always liked from the Byers home. The smell was of smoke and ginger, sometimes with a hint of bacon by the morning breakfast and from Will's mother anxious smoke. The two went towards the couch, a small, brown thing that was comfortable to sit on if you were waiting hours for something. Will nervously fiddled with his hands, his eyes looking over at the coffee table.

"So, wh-what ha-happened in your d-dream?" Bill asked quietly, his eyes showing worry as he stared at the small boy who sat next to him. Will looked back at him before he looked back at the coffee table.

Will let out a deep breath before he began. "I was back in the sewers, alone, just like when I went missing, but I was running," His breathing began to become faster than normal. "There was the voice of the Mind Flayer from behind and he was coming closer,"

"W-What did th-the Mind Fl-Flayer say?" Bill asked quietly. The Mind Flayer is what Will had called It, the monster that had attacked him. Will always had a name for when he was there. The children he called the Lost Children and he called the man that attacked him first was the Demogorgen, which was the first monster Will had met. He only told Bill this because if he told anyone else, he would go straight to therapy for what he saw, but Bill believed Will to some degree. He did not believe that he saw Georgie, but he did believe he saw It and the Lost Children.

"He said that he will kill us all," Will quickly whispered, his eyes filling with tears. "He said that we cannot stop him. Then, I.. I went into a large place that had webs of children on the ceiling and I.. I saw you and.. Mike.. and.. you were dead.. He killed you..." That was all Will spoke of before he bursted into tears, sobbing quietly as he was filled with sadness and pain.

Bill wrapped an arm around Will before hugging him, Will's head laid onto Bill's chest while his tears stained Bill's shirt. His body fitting close to Bill's. Bill closed his eyes, rubbing Will's back while he cried. Bill had known to do this by his mother whenever Georgie had cried when he was younger.

"It's okay, Will," Bill said softly. "Y-You're g-going to be o-okay," His voice calm and quiet as he rubbed Will's back with his hand. Will had sobbed for five minutes, turning into quiet sniffles. Bill's shirt was soaked by Will's tears, holding Will's body close to him as he hugged Will.

"No it isn't," Will mumbled, his eyes looking down before looking back up at Bill. "They won't stop. . . And he keeps taunting me and hurting my friends in my dreams," He said before sobbing again. "I'm terrified to even call you because you might be dead,"

"I-I'm n-not dead, W-Will," Bill admitted, gently grabbing his hand just like when they had held hands to comfort each other at the hospital. "I-I-I will al-always be here for you, Wi-Will," Bill replied softly.

Will nodded, his eyes weakly opening as he looked at Bill. Will looked tired, ready to fall asleep like a small toddler after a fit. Will closed his eyes, leaning on Bill's shoulder as they stayed quiet for a while. Will lifted his head up as he sniffled, wiping his tears with his sweatshirt. "I'm sorry for being such a mess," Will said softly, his eyes looking down at the ground.

Bill looked at Will with a sad smile. "W-Will, I'm a-a m-mess too," He whispered. Will's head moved up, clearly interested in Bill's reasoning that he was a mess, his expression showing sadness and disbelief. "A l-lot of pe-people are messed up l-like us and th-that's okay and w-whoever th-this person i-is, you s-shouldn't be af-afraid o-of him,"

Tears fell down Will's cheeks as Will looked at him. What he said meant the world to him that he wasn't some weird person. He wasn't Zombie Boy. He wasn't the Boy Who Came Back to Life. "Thank you, Bill," Will whispered. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here,"

"M-Me too," Bill replied softly, a smile forming on his lips.

Will's mouth did not smile as he looked at Bill's eyes before he looked down. "Bill, but I saw him,"

"Wh-What do y-you m-mean?" Bill asked, his eyes looking at Will with worry. "You've always seen him,"

"I saw his silhouette," Will whispered. "I. . . I saw who he really is,"

"T-Then wh-what is h-he?" Bill asked softly.

Will sighed, his lips trembling as he looked down. "It's a clown," He whispered. "I know it's sounds crazy, but he is,"

Bill stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say. This was an abnormal thing for a killer to look like, especially the killer who might have killed Georgie, but why a clown? Why would a clown be in the sewers and go off killing kids? That seemed like nothing for what a clown to do. . . Unless it was a serial killer who only killed kids and ripped a kids fucking arm off with the strength of a gorilla. "A-A cl-clown?" Bill questioned softly.

"Y-Yeah," Will stuttered almost like Bill did. "I-It almost seemed like the clown at the carnival when my friends and I had gone there alone in third grade,"

Bill's eyes widened in shock, remembering that is what Mike had told them one month ago when their friendship between the AV and Losers' Club connected. He had told them about how that the clown had waved his hand at him and wanted him to come closer to the boy, but he couldn't. Also how the red balloon began to move closer towards Mike, almost going towards the projector.

"H-Holy sh-shit," Bill swore under his breath, making Will's head immediately go up towards Bill.

"What?" Will asked in confusion.

"M-Mike s-saw th-the s-same cl-clown w-when h-he w-was in M-Mr. Cl-Clarke's cl-class wh-when w-we t-talked a-about the f-fight or fl-flight r-response," Bill was stuttering more than he used to because he was so anxious and trying to explain it quickly, but was failing.

Will's face turned pale at the response, his eyes wide with fear. "W-What?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah," Bill said. "He said he heard the clown in the projector talking to him,"

"This. . . This isn't good," Will said softly.

"I k-know," Bill replied. "If this is true, what is he then?"

"I don't know, but he's a monster," Will whispered.

There was silence between the two as they both looked away from each other, the silence consuming their voices. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the washing machine turning from the distance.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," Will said softly, averting his gaze towards Bill.

Bill looked over at Will with sympathy before he spoke. "I-If y-you w-want, I c-could st-stay here,"

"Are you sure?" Will asked.

"Yeah, it's wh-what fr-friends d-do ri-right?" Bill asked with a faint smile.

Will softly smiled at Bill and chuckled. "Yeah," He replied.

The two sat next to each other on the couch for hours before morning would begin. They both laid their heads on the rest of the couch before saying goodnight, staying close to each other while the night was beginning to end. Jonathan and Joyce would find the two fast asleep on the couch with their heads tilted towards them while they slept peacefully, not knowing of the horrors that they had just talked that night.


	15. The Promise

Mike Wheeler sat in his seat on the breakfast table that Friday morning. His hair curling around his freckled cheeks while he just stared down at his breakfast. His eyes glistened as he was in deep thought while he just looked at his food. Mike never usually drowned in deep thought, but it had been a month ago since the finding of Will Byers.

Mike had something on his mind that he could not fix. It was the girl that he had met that day. Why would he care about her? He didn't really know why or how, it just happened. He wanted to talk to her, he just needed to.

"Mike, are you going to eat your breakfast?" Nancy bickered, snapping Mike out of his daze. Mike looked up at Nancy before glaring at her with furrowed brows.

"It's not like I have a test that shows the human anatomy of a male," Mike muttered in annoyance, stabbing his scrambled eggs with a fork before eating them. He could feel a smirk forming on his face at the gasp of anger that escaped Nancy's mouth. He didn't dare look at her because if he did, he would certainly laugh. As revenge, Nancy kicked him in the ankle, which Mike sent one back out of their sibling love.

Mike finished his breakfast after five minutes, placing his things in the sink before walking towards the basement door that was in between the living room and the kitchen with a small wooden door. He gently opened the door, hearing the door creak slightly before he gently walked down the stairs, hoping that his family wouldn't hear him go down to the basement.

He gently walked down the steps, his feet finally touching the basement floor that was their hangout. He went towards the fort, seeing his supercom that he had left there after the night before. Would she even hear him? He thought quietly in his head, his mind becoming filled with doubt that she would never be there.

The fort was very nice, tall chairs helped support the fort with had its' shelter under the wooden desk. Small, colored Christmas lights helped light up inside the fort with its pretty colors, that made the quilt over the fort look so much prettier than it was without them. Pillows and blankets were tucked onto the corner of the wall, making it much more of a resting place than a child fort.

Mike sat down inside the fort, grabbing the supercom from in front of him. His eyes stared at the super-com for a while, wondering if he should do this. He needed to talk to her because he knew that somehow she could find people and maybe she could find the Lost Children that Will had spoken of or he was just crazy.

Last night, something had happened. He hadn't been the same since last night because he had dreamed he had seen her. He really did. He didn't know how, but maybe she was trying to contact him. He had been trying to find her for weeks and nothing seemed to happen, so why did she even do it? Why would she come to him when he had been giving up on her? Mike sighed, beginning to revise what happened when she had come to him after he had fallen asleep that night.

002

Mike had woken up with a jolt, letting out a gasp as his eyes opened. His let out shaky breaths, running his hands through his hair as he was trying to calm himself down. He didn't know why he was gasping for air and why he felt so weird. He felt like he was having a panic attack, but he didn't know why. Did he have a nightmare? And if he did, why would he have forgotten it so quickly?

Mike let out a deep breath, opening his eyes as he looked at his surroundings. His bed was there, but everything that was around him was from another world. He was surrounded by darkness, an abyss that could never stop in a never ending cycle. The floor glimmered in dark water that never showed the bottom of the floor.

"H-Hello?" He called out softly, his voice echoing through the darkness. There was only pure silence, the silence that made Mike feel uncomfortable and concerned.

Mike slowly pulled off his covers, moving his body towards exiting the bed. He placed his feet in the water, making him shiver from the lukewarm water that dampened his socks. He slowly stood up, escaping from the warmth of his bed as he entered the cold, darkness. He turned around, looking back at his bed before it disappeared into smoke, leaving him alone in the darkness. He began to walk ahead, feeling his feet touch the shallow water while he treaded forward, knowing that there was nothing to go back to.

"Mike," A voice called out from behind, echoing through the abyss as his heart pounded. He remembered this voice instantly. He quickly turned around, his head turning in the direction of the voice. His eyes immediately staring into the brown irises.

It was her, the girl that he had met that day.

She looked beautiful, just like how he had seen her that day. Her curly hair covering her face as she stared at him, her soft, pink lips forming into a smile. Mike quickly walked towards her through the shallow, dark water. His heart pounding in excitement, something that he had never felt before. He smiled at her, sadness showing in his face as the girl softly giggled at his actions.

Mike stopped when they were face to face, his eyes looking at her as he said. "Hey," His heart filled with happiness as he stared at her. Even in the darkness, he could still see the happiness. "I've missed you, well, we've all missed you," He said softly, his eyes looking at her with care. "You just left us and we got worried we did something,"

"I had to," The girl whispered softly. "My father. . . He doesn't want people seeing me," Her expression became concerned, her vision looking down at the ground.

"Why?" Mike asked softly, his eyes looking at her.

"I.. I can't tell you," The girl whispered.

Mike sighed, his eyes looking straight at hers with trust. "Okay,"

The girl stayed quiet, her eyes looking back at Mike before she opened her mouth. "I need your help, please,"

"With what?" Mike asked softly, his eyes looking into hers with a serious voice as he moved closer towards her.

"Go to channel eleven tomorrow morning," The girl whispered. "Through your supercom,"

"Are you going to contact me?" Mike asked quietly.

"Yes," The girl's head nodded. "I. . . I will see you there," Her head turned around as she began to leave him.

"Wait!" Mike exclaimed, trying to grab her arm, but he phased through her like she had turned into a ghost. She faded into a puff of smoke, disappearing into the abyss with no return.

That's when he woke up covered in sweat just like how he had woken up in that world.

003

Mike sighed, turning the channel towards the number that he had been told by the girl, hoping that it wasn't just a dream, that she was right that she would be waiting for him. Once he got the channel, he pulled up the antenna on the supercom, hearing just a wave of static that he would believe to be from the low radio waves of the Big Bang, but this wasn't the time. Right now, he needed to talk to her.

He let out a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of any of his friends if they heard him. He didn't really mind about his best friends, but if Richie found out. . . He did not know how many years Richie would torment him about it.

He pressed the button and began to speak. "Hey. . . Um. It's me, Mike," Mike said softly, trying to stay as quiet as possible so his family wouldn't hear him or anything else. "Are you out there? Over," He pressed away from the button, waiting for an answer.

Minutes passed by, only hearing the static of the channel as he sighed. No response came. He began to give up. He placed the super-com back in it's place, clearly annoyed with himself.

Why did he even do this to himself? He was an idiot for even believing that she was going to be there, that she came to him that night in his dreams in that one place. It must have been his imagination that she came to him that night. It was only his mind that created those thoughts.

He slowly got out of the fort, his expression filled with sadness as he stared at the supercom again. His eyes filled with pain, almost like he was going to cry. He scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment before slowly began to stand up. The Christmas lights quickly flickered, trying to alert him that something was coming.

"Y-Yes," A quiet voice called out through the static, making Mike quickly fall on her butt in surprise. He went inside the fort quickly without making the fort fall. He grabbed the supercom, his fingers fumbling with the supercom as he was trying to process what to do. He quickly pulled it close to his face and pressed the button, his heart pounding that he could almost hear it. He knew it was the girl's voice.

He quickly pressed the button. "Hey. What. . . What do you need help with?" He said softly, his hand shaking while he held the supercom.

"Escape," The girl whispered softly. "I need to escape,"

"From where? Your home?" Mike quickly replied.

"Yes."

Mike let out a deep breath, trying to figure out his next comment before he made the best decision in his entire life. "Come over to 1027 Maple Street and Kerly Avenue, not now, but come at eight-fifteen," He compromised. "It's my house. If you go down the back of the house there is a door behind the garage, go there and I'll be waiting for you, okay?"

There was nothing for a few seconds. He began to become worried that she wasn't there and that he had just made her leave, but she came back. "Do you promise?" She whispered softly. Mike's eyes widened at the word promise.

He had not used that in years since Will and him were kids. It was something that the boys used when they would hide secrets from their parents. He remembered when they went to the carnival that one day in third grade when Will had asked him to promise that he would always be there for him and never leave him alone. "Of course, Will!" Mike had exclaimed with a smile with his one missing tooth. "I promise that I will always be one your side!"

Wow. . . It almost felt like years since third grade. How did time pass by so quickly? Mike thought inside his head before he quickly answered El's question after almost forgetting their entire conversation.

"I promise," Mike replied. "I- I promise I'll be waiting for you at eight-fifteen," He began to hear loud footsteps going towards the door.

"Okay. Bye Mike," The girl whispered right when the door bursted open. Footsteps rushed down to the basement, revealing his seven friends as they all rushed down the stairs from a friendship that began a month ago. Mike placed down his super-com and stood up, letting a sigh escape from his lips.

Every boy looked different since last week. The cold air of the fall made the boys all change out of their warm, summer clothes and into their cold, warm clothes. Will and Bill had begun wearing long-sleeved plaid shirts with warm colors that they wish they could feel. Eddie and Stan began wearing sweaters over their polo shirts. Dustin wearing his usual shirts under a hoodie that and Lucas wearing his old winter clothes.

"What fucking took you so long there, Mikey?" Richie asked, pushing up his glasses as his attire was pretty much just like his summer clothing except he wore a plaid flannel over his random t-shirts.

"Yeah, we were waiting for five minutes for you," Lucas replied with furrowed eyebrows, placing his hands in his pockets.

Mike sighed, shaking his head as he patted the fake dust from his pants. "Sorry, I was in my own mind," Which wasn't even true at all because he was talking to the girl that they had met one month ago.

"Ah," Eddie said softly, looking at the others with a soft nod.

"You were thinking about her, weren't you?" Stan replied, his hands fitting into his pockets while he stared at him. Silence filled the room as their eyes all stared at Mike.

"I. . . I guess," Mike said softly, turning his head towards the basement door. "We should get going,"

"A-Agreed," Bill said softly, looking back at Will, who's eyes were off in their own world. Will quickly felt Bill's eyes on him and jerked up, looking back at the others before mumbling "Sorry."

"Okay, well, let's go," Dustin replied, signaling the others to go before he did.

The boys all descended up the stairs, each ignoring the static of the supercom that was still heard. Mike grabbed the supercom gently in his hands, pulling down the antenna, and placing it back in it's spot before he went up the stairs with the boys. He hoped that nothing intervened with their arrangement as left the basement with the supercom laying in the fort. He looked back at the basement when he got to the doorway, his eyes looking at the fort before he left with the others.


	16. The Voices

Will could feel the air in his face while he held onto Bill's body, his arms wrapped around his waist while Bill gently biked down the streets with the others. Will's eyes looking off in the distance while his skin gently touched the morning sun while his bangs flew apart from each other to show the scar that had been stitched since a week ago, but it still looked as gruesome and horrific as any other scar on his body that hurt whenever he moved them.

The streets around him looked inviting as houses stood on every side, seeing the little children that were walking to school with their best friends or parents. He saw a small, young boy with his mother, holding onto her hand as he shyly went towards the bus stop. He wished he could be back in those days where his life was much simpler and creative than now.

He was stuck in deep thought while the others were talking to eachother and the lame impressions that Richie would do in front of all of them that made Dustin and Lucas almost fall off their bikes.

"W-Will?" A voice asked, making Will jump from his thoughts. He looked at Bill, seeing as his head was turned towards him, but was still looking out at the streets. "A-Are y-you o-okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, sorry," Will replied, his eyes looking at Bill as Bill turned his head towards the street.

"A-Are y-you st-still thinking a-about th-the ni-nightmare?" Bill asked softly.

Will nodded gently, staying quiet while he knew Bill would understand what he was saying. "Yeah," He whispered.

"Wait, what nightmare?" Stan immediately interrupted their conversation, his curly hair moving behind him as he biked next to them. His eyes looking back at Will with concern, but also pure seriousness. Will could feel embarrassment darken his cheeks to a red, Will's hand still clutching Bill's shirt while Bill biked. His breathing began to become uneven in fear.

"I-It's n-nothing, S-Stan," Bill complied. Stan's eyes squinted in frustration and annoyance.

"Is there something going on?" Eddie came into the conversation, biking on Bill's left as the small boy gently glided through the streets on his black bike, his fanny pack hugging his pants. Everyone was beginning to listen in on the conversation, making Will feel his heart pound. He could see Michael's eyes stare into him while he showed confusion and sadness.

"No, nothing is going on," Will replied anxiously with a shaky breath.

"Is that true?" Michael asked, looking at Will with a serious voice that he had not seen from him in their entire friendship.

"No it isn't," Stan replied in an annoyed grumble. "They are trying to hide that Will had a nightmare last night,"

"St-Stan," Bill interjected in worry. Will could feel his heart pound in his ears out of fear seeing the boys' eyes widen with concern. He did not want people worrying about him, especially his mother who would immediately bring him to therapy if he told her what he had seen.

"No, we need to tell each other this kind of stuff," Stan replied with a serious voice, his voice becoming a little louder than what was expected. "Last week we all went through something and you, Will, went through the worst. We all need to stick together and we all promised that we would never lie to one another,"

"Wow Stan, who knew you had the balls to speak," Richie softly chuckled, pushing up his red glasses while he biked with his one hand.

"Beep beep, Richie," Eddie muttered in annoyance, his eyes glaring at him.

"G-Guys, W-Will isn't c-comfortable s-speaking about i-it," Bill complied softly, defending Will while they biked. "It's j-just a n-nightmare a-anyway, nothing e-else,"

"Will doesn't look like that's true," Michael intervened, peddling close towards Bill's bike. Mike's curly hair flowing in the wind. "Will, what did you see?"

Will began to feel his heart pound, his hands sweating while he clutched onto Bill's flannel. His mind swirling in thoughts as he tried to figure out what to say, feeling just like he did the night of his disappearance. Then everything began to slow down, his eyes looking at Bill and then Mike before he heard a voice that he tried to get out of his head.

"Hello there Will," The voice beckoned inside of his head, his chuckles echoing in the darkness. "Having some problems with your so called friends?" Will knew who this was because he had heard it too many times before. It was the Mind Flayer, the clown that had taken him into the sewers. The monster's laugh began to taunt him, making his expression fill with sadness.

Please go away. I don't want to talk to you. Will replied quietly inside his head, feeling his frustration rise in him.

"Why not?" The clown beckoned. Will could almost feel the clown smile at him. "I'm Pennywise the Dancing Clown! Here to make children's lives filled with happiness,"

Liar. Will thought in annoyance, feeling his heart becoming slower as his hands gripped Bill's shirt tightly. His conversation with It was already exhausting and he just wanted to leave the conversation, but couldn't. Their minds were connected somehow, trying to get out of this nightmare, but they both couldn't. Killing kids does not make their lives happy.

"Ooh!" The voice chuckled, letting out a historical laugh, but Will just stayed quiet. "The boy believes that I'm a murder?" He rhetorically asked to the world of no one. "A clown would never do that!" He screamed out of laughter.

Will did not say anything, feeling his anger rise as he heard the voice continue screeching. His eyes glaring at Mike while he thought in his head. Stop it.

"Stop what?" Pennywise bellowed, his voice chuckling with a smile. "I can make your fears come to life,"

The voice began changing into something higher pitched. "Just like me, Will! Don't you remember me from the sewers?" Georgie asked inside Will's head.

The voices began to change, turning into something more feminine. "Come on, Will! You'll be okay here in the sewers! We're all crazy down here," Jennifer Hayes replied sweetly, almost sounding just like herself, but Will knew it wasn't her. It was him.

You're sick. Will thought in disgust.

"Says the boy who's talking to a voice inside his own head." Jennifer taunted. "What if we told your friends about your crazy mind? Maybe even your mother?"

"Leave me alone!" Will cried out loud to the voices inside his head, but he did not know that he had spoken it out loud. Will's eyes widen in surprise and tried to find the right words to say. Michael's eyes widened with shock, his mouth ajar open along with the others.

"Holy shit, Will," Dustin muttered softly. "Sorry,"

"Yeah, sorry Will," Eddie said softly before looking down.

There was only silence on the way to school as the boys biked while Will held onto Bill. Will's eyes ready to burst out crying. He knew he was crazy, he knew it. Pennywise wasn't real. It was just an hallucination that went inside his head because he had gone through the worst in the sewers. He had not known that the clown's name was Pennywise until now. He could feel himself going insane as he heard the laughs of Georgie inside his head, taunting him into insanity.

002

The boys got the school after a few minutes, seeing the bland brick building as students went into the school for the start of the day. Bill gently stopped in front of the bike racks, waiting for Will to get off as the others placed their bikes on the racks. Will got off, looking at Michael while he put his bike onto the rack, his hair hiding his expression as it was hung low.

Will sighed, opening his mouth slowly as he struggled to speak. "I-I'm sorry," He choked out, letting the others look at him with surprise, maybe because they believed that Will was going to push them away, but they were interested in what he was going to say.

Will could feel the tears fill his eyes before quickly blinking them away. "I. . . I have been having nightmares," He replied with pure honesty. "Most of them have been just of the sewers, b-but some. . ." He couldn't break down, not here, not now when everyone in school was watching all of them.

"S-Some d-deal w-with the M-Mind F-Flayer," Bill intervened so Will wouldn't have to say.

"The Mind Flayer?" Eddie asked as he gently tilted his head like a dog in confusion.

"What the hell is that? Is it like some fucking fantasy character?" Richie joked, trying to have some kind of comical relief in this conversation.

"It's from D&D dumbass," Dustin replied with a smartass and annoyed tone. "It's the monster that we couldn't defeat before Will went missing,"

"He tried to use a protection spell, but got a one and-" Michael replied with a nod in Dustin's direction.

"And we lost," Lucas interrupted Michael, putting his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"How does this deal with the killer?" Stan asked, his eyes squinting in confusion that hid his hazel orbs.

"Because we need a name for the killer, not just It or something else," Michael said in defense for Will, his eyes blazing with sincerity.

"And also before we knew who "killed" Will, we called the kidnapper the Demogorgen after the monster attacking Will. He fireballed, but he got a seven which is lower than a thirteen and lost," Dustin explained quickly for the others to understand using his hands for quotation marks when he said killed.

"Wow, Will, you really lose at D&D huh?" Richie smirked at Will which sent a glare from both Bill and Michael. Richie held his hands up in defense, saying like he didn't do anything.

Will gently sniffled, wiping the tears with his jacket that splashed out of his eyes. "I guess you're right," He chuckled softly. "But at least the name is better than It,"

Then there was silence as the boys all looked at each other, not really knowing what or who was going to speak up.

"So, what did you see?" Stan asked softly.

"W-Will, I-I could e-explain i-it t-to th-them i-if y-you w-want," Bill replied, his eyes looking back at Will with sympathy, but Will shook his head.

"No, I can do it," Will said, his eyes looking at the others with a serious and fearless expression. "I was in the sewers again, but in a different area. It wasn't a tunnel and it was much more open with a dome at the top. He came out through one of the tunnels and out of the darkness. I got to see his face and his appearance,"

"What did you see?" Michael asked.

"I saw a clown," Will replied, his hair gently blowing in the wind that passed through. "A clown that reminded me of the clown that was at the carnival who creepily stared at us in third grade,"

Lucas gasped in almost surprise, like he had remembered his own past. "I remember that!" He exclaimed. "Wasn't it the clown that had somehow disappeared when the murder of Stacy William?"

"Oh yeah! The guy with the orange hair, white clothes. . ." Dustin continued on with their conversation.

"And the orange buttons," Mike replied, shivering at the thought of what he remembered seeing last week in Mr. Clarke's room, oh how a nightmare was.

"Well, anyways," Will intervened, trying to continue depicting his nightmare to the others who did not know what was going on. "He came towards me with a laugh, telling me that I was too late and I saw Bill and Mike were hanging on the ceiling of the towers of dead children. They. . . They were dead," He whispered, his eyes looking back at the others with a solemn voice. "All of you were,"

There was silence among the boys, their eyes wide with surprise, almost fear, but they seemed to be okay with it. Will stared at all of them, his eyes looking back at all of them just like he would days later with blood on his hands. They seemed to not know what to say for a few minutes, shocked that Will had enough courage to even tell them this. "He told me that he would kill us all," He replied. "He told me that we could never stop him,"

"Well, whoever this is," Mike replied, his eyes showing determination, a new emotion that Will had never seen before. "We should try to find out who he is,"

"But what if it's not human?" Eddie asked in a shaky voice. "Didn't you say Mike that the clown in the projector was smiling at you?" Eddie grabbed his aspirator from his fanny pack and injected the medicine into his mouth.

"Whatever it is," Bill said, his voice becoming out as a leader. His eyes showing a long lasting seriousness that no one had seen in Bill before. "We're going to find out what it is, together,"

The boys looked at each other, their eyes watching each and every move that they made before the bell rang. "Crap!" Dustin exclaimed. "We're late!" The boys quickly grabbed their things, rushing towards the school as Will rushed behind them. He couldn't believe what had just happened. They were going to be finding out what the Mind Flayer or Pennywise or whatever it was. He could feel almost relief flood his mind at the thought. He quickly went towards the school doors, looking back in the distance before going inside into the school for the start of his school day.


End file.
